LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

<vT^ 

Chap*_*=?j?- Copyright No. 

o 

Shelf^JL 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



FARM-POULTRY SERIES. 



No. Two. 



The 




Doctor. 






APR 6 189fe) 



Price, 50 Cents. 



PUBLISHED BY 

I. S.JOHNSON .V CO.. 2j Custom House St.. Boston, Mass. 
1896. 



Poultry on Top! 



? 



t 

The introduction of preparations to take the place of lard — the trolley car, bicycle, motor 
i cycle, etc., for carriages — have given the hog and horse raising industry of the entire 
X country a serious setback, and the same farmers must turn their attention to an industry 
^> which promises to outstrip both of the old. The king is dead! 

♦ 

Long Live King Poultry! 

The census of 1880 gave the total number of barnyard fowl at 125,500,340: the number 
of dozen eggs laid, 456, 875,080. The census of 1890 gave fowl, 285,288,700; eggs laid, 
817,211,146. , This enormous increase shows nearly 100 per cent in only ten years. Cer- 
^ tainlv poultry raising is on top. Read the 

I c^pARM-pOULTRY,^ 

SEMI-MONTHLY, 

♦ and learn all about it. There are already established in some parts of the United Stales 
T great poultry packing establishments which are paying extra prices for choice stock, such 
T as Farm-Poultry teaches how to grow. 

♦ THE DEMAND for choice market poultry in the form of chickens for broilers, 

♦ roasters, fowl, ducks, turkeys and eggs, is e\ery year increasing. The average price in 
*' large marketsrules high the veararound. The demand for ." good " poultry and " fresh " 

eggs is not supplied by the raisers of this country, and will not be for years to come. 
Prices are steadily increasing year after year. 



t 
f 

t 

^ THEREFORE, why not give more attention to poultry raising? ^ on may answer, 

f •• Oh ! there is no profit in it here." Yes there is, " here " or anywhere, if rightly done. 
T "' Send)*' poultry, poorly prepared for market, and stale eggs, like all other second grade 
oods, will always sell slow in the market. 



That Best of all Poultry Papers. 



I 
S 
I r^FARM-POULTRY, 

published by I. S. Johnson ,V Co., Boston, Mass., has done, is doing, and will continue 
to do very much to teach even person who reads it carefully and practices its teaching, 
bow to raise poultry for profit, because all the matter that goes into it is the result of 
actual experience on the poultry farms. Upon these farms is being done every 
year JUSI what FARM-POULTRY can and will teach you, if you study its pages every issue. 
It is a practical instructor: it is a helpful friend and aid: it is to the beginner an ever 
ready reference and guide to success. 

Do you care to learn how others make their hens pay $2.50 each per year? Then 
Bubscribe to Farm-Poultry. "What has been done can be done again." 
Remember the price : one year, $1.00 ; six months, 50c; sample copy free. 

I. S. JOHNSON & CO., - - 22 Custom House Street, Boston, Mass. 



\ 



♦»»»♦«»»♦«♦♦♦«♦»»«♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦< 



FARM-POULTRY SERIES. No. 2. 



Farm- Poultry 



Doctor. 



PREVENTION AND CURE 

OF 

POULTRY DISEASES. 

NATHAN W. SANBORN, M. D. 



Price, 50 Cents. 



... 



PUBLISHED BY 
I. S. JOHNSON & CO., 22 Custom House St., Boston, Mass. 

1896. 



x-' 



Copyright, 1896, 

BY 

I.. S.JOHNSON & CO. 
BOSTON. MASS. 



f 9^ 



Press of S. G. Robinson, 29 Purchase St., Boston. 



PREFACE. 



Writers in the poultry press, in telling what remedies to give, often say, " I 
gave three doses of ' something,' and cured the bird." Many letters have I 
received asking, " How much, and how often shall I give the medicine?" It 
is hoped that the directions here given are plain on these points. 

A severe illness of a bird, even though it apparently recovers, reduces its 
value. Throughout these pages it is prevention of disease, rather than cure, 
that is emphasized. First, how to avoid ; second, how to cure. 

Our birds are at our mercy, and if disease appears in the flock, commonly, 
it is because of sins of omission or commission on the part of the owner. 

If the ideas here presented shall lead to more healthy birds — increased 
profit — the book will have accomplished its mission. 

NATHAN W. SANBORN, M. D. 

Wellesley Hills, Mass. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



Abdomen, Diseases of 


26 


Frost-Bite, - 


33 


A Case in Point, 


4 S 


Fungoid, ... 


3 1 


Administering Medicine, - 


43 


Gapes, ... 


15 


A Few Questions Answered. 


47 


Gastritis, ... 


22 


Anaemia, - 


- s > 44 


Grain, ... 


7 


Apoplexy, - 


- 33- 44 


Green Food, 


7 


Appendix, - 


43 


Grit, 


6 


Atrophy of the Liver, 


45 


How to Obtain Our Remedies, 


4 S 


Baldness, ... 


45 


Impaction of Crop, 


20 


Black-Rot, - 


3- 


Indigestion, 


- 22, 46 


Break-Down, 


29 


Inflammation of Crop, 


21 


Broken Bones, 


34 


Inflammation of Liver, 


23 


Bronchitis, - - - 


- 17. 45 


Intestines, Diseases of 


24 


Bumble-Foot, 


37 


Lameness, - 


34 


Canker, - 


- 12, 46 


Leg, Diseases of 


34 


Care and Food, 


6 


Leg Weakness, 


- 34- 4 6 


Catarrh, - 


- 12, 45 


Lice, ... 


- 38.47 


Charcoal, - 


7 


Liver, Diseases of - 


^3^ 45. 47 


Chicken-Pox, 


37 


Lungs, Diseases of 


17 


Cholera, - 


- 9- 45 


Moulting, - - - 


- 4°. 47 


Comb, Diseases of 


3 1 


Over-Feeding, 


41 


Comb, Injuries of - 


33 


Oviduct, Diseases of 


29 


Congestion of Liver, 


23 


Oviduct, Inflammation of 


3° 


Constipation, 


- 24, 46 


Peritonitis, - 


27 


Consumption, 


19 


Pip, - 


18 


Cramp, ... 


- 35- 4 6 


Pneumonia, 


18 


Crop, Diseases of - 


20 


Prolapse, - 


29 


Cut Green Bone and Meat, 


7 


Proper Houses and Yards, 


5 


Debility, 


- 3, 46 


Rheumatism, 


- 35. 4 6 


Diarrhoea, - 


- 25, 46 


Roundworm, 


28 


Dieting Sick Fowls, 


44 


Roup, ... 


- 12, 47 


Diphtheria, 


- 1 1, 46 


Scaly-Legs, 


36 


Disease, Prevention of 


5 


Scurvy or Itch, 


45 


Dropsy, ... 


26 


Soft-Shelled Eggs, 


3 1 


Dropsy of Feet, 


36 


Sturdy Stock, 


5 


Dropsy of Heart Sack, 


20 


Tapeworm, - 


28 


Dysentery, - - - 


25 


Testicles, Enlargement of 


27 


Eczema, - 


37 


Tuberculosis, 


19 


Egg-Bound, 


29 


Ulcerated Sore Throat, 


46 


Egg-Eating, 


39 


Under-Feeding, 


40 


Enlarged Crop, 


-- 


Vent-Gleet, 


29 


Enlargement of Liver, 


23 


Vertigo, - 


- 9. 44 


Enteritis, - 


- 26, 46 


Wasting ot Liver, - 


24 


Feather-Eating, 


39 


White Comb, 


- 32. 45 


Fertile Eggs, 


4 S 


Worms, - 


28 


Fish-Skin Disease, 


36 


Young Chickens, - 


47 



FARM-POULTRY DOCTOR. 



Prevention of Disease. 

To be successful in the keeping of poultry one must be able to avoid the 
losses that come from preventable disease. Very likely you may be skillful in 
curing ailments that appear in your flocks ; but how much more satisfactory it 
is to have no sickness to contend with. Use common sense and prevention 
rather than so-called " sure-cures." 

The first essential in the prevention of disease is : 

Sturdy Stock. 

Avoid buying eggs or birds from weak, long in-bred stock, or from yards 
largely made up of late hatched, undersized birds. Breeding from birds that 
have been ill, although apparently well, is poor practice. Let every bird used 
for breeding be well matured, good-sized, vigorous, and a descendant of sturdy 
stock. 

Proper Houses and Yards. 

Land for poultry plants ought to be dry or easily drained. Light land, 
where the snow melts early in the season and quickly becomes dry, is to be 
sought for. A damp or wet soil, even though tight floors are used, is to be 
avoided. The yards should be large enough to keep in grass permanently, not 
only to furnish green food, but to feed upon the droppings and thereby prevent 
the ground becoming filthy. 

The poultry house should be of such size that every part can be easily and 
quickly taken care of. The roof and cold sides should be wind and water 
proof. Cracks let in rain and cold air where they are not needed, and lead to 
roup and bronchitis. There should not be too much glass in the house front. 
One window (two sashes) to a pen twelve feet square is enough, both for 
light and warmth. More glass than this will make the house at noon in sun- 
shiny days in winter too warm — and at night will radiate the heat so that the 
house becomes too cold. Some scratching-shed arrangement will be helpful ; 
or a door in the front of each pen that can be opened in pleasant weather, will 
answer the same purpose. Ventilators will not be required in houses that are 
six feet high and kept clean. 

Roosts and droppings boards ought to be low for heavy breeds, and made so 
as to furnish as little room as possible for " red mites." Nests should be mov- 
able, and easily kerosened. Dust boxes full of road-dust should be in every 
pen. Shade should be furnished in warm weather. If the poultry yards can 
be in an orchard the problem is solved ; but if there are no trees board shelters 
can be made in the runs. 



6 FARM-PO ULTRT DOC TOR. 

Care and Food. 

Birds, houses and brooders must be kept free from all lice. No one who 
wishes to succeed with poultry can neglect to consider the lice question. It 
comes into prominence at all times of the year. Like the poor, lice are always 
with us. The great obstacle to paying poultry and the stumbling-block in 
many an otherwise successful plant, is lice. If your birds ought to be laying 
but are not — look for lice. If the young chicks, that should be growing, are 
dying — look for lice. Do not feed the army of tramps, — lice and mites. 

Begin early to fight lice. Dust the sitting hen with some good insect 
powder. Use the powder on the young chicks. See that the brooders do not 
become infested. Whitewash and kerosene will help keep within bounds the 
lice tribe in the large house. Roosts and nest boxes need constant attention. 
The red mites will multiply rapidly in the droppings if not often removed. It 
is good practice to dust the old birds with insect powder every two months 
during the warm season. If this is done in a business-like way it will take 
less time than one would at first suppose. Next to lice, I would place filth. 
Droppings boards and floors must be kept clean. Many cases of roup are due 
to uncleaned boards in the wet weeks of the year. Droppings boards cleaned 
and dusted at least twice a week, will prevent disaster to more flocks than one. 

Exercise is needed for good health, and to help fill the egg basket. During 
the cold months of the year this can be produced by using scratching material, 
hay or straw, on the floors of house or shed, and throwing all whole grain into 
it. When the material becomes too fine and soiled it should be replaced with 
a new supply. Remove early in the spring, lest it become a breeding place 
for lice. 

Fresh water is as necessary to fowls as to ourselves. It should be given 
twice a day in winter, and three times in summer. Drinking vessels should be 
carefully washed once a day during the warm weather, and at least twice a 
week in winter. Fountains that cannot be thoroughly cleaned should not be 
used. Very cold water should not be given, as it sometimes produces 
" cramp," and takes too much of the bird's heat to warm it to the temperature 
of the body. 

Hens should be kept as much as possible from heavy rains and snows. To 
be drenched with water when half moulted adds much to the drain that is 
being made upon the system to supply a new suit of clothes. Chicks a few 
days old are sometimes stunted, if not killed, by exposure to a sudden shower. 



Grit. 

Broken stone, brick or crockery ought to be within reach of every chick and 
fowl. Oyster shells will not take the place of grit, but are useful as a variety. 
To oblige birds to seek for grit in the droppings or from the earth floor of the 
pen, is uncleanly, to say the least. To attempt getting winter eggs without 
hen-teeth in abundance is useless. 



FARM-PO ULTRT DO CTOR. 



Charcoal. 



A box or basin of small charcoal will be appreciated by the stock, and prove 
helpful to the digestion. I have often noticed my birds, when let out in the 
morning run to the ash heap or the remains of a brush fire and seek earnestly 
for small pieces of burned wood. 

Green Food. 

Hens running wild or confined to a large yard of sod have this article in 
abundance during the growing season of the year. Birds kept in small bare 
yards or in houses, and all birds during the winter, need a generous supply of 
green food. Without doubt clover is the best well balanced green food we can 
use. Care must be taken that it is cut into pieces not more than one-half inch 
in length, thereby avoiding impaction of crop. It can be fed at noon by itself, 
or used in the morning mash. Barn-sweepings and waste from the mows 
contain seeds and leaves that the birds gladly pick up. Lettuce, young oat 
sprouts, lawn cuttings, cabbage, and roots of many kinds, may be used for 
winter green food. 

Cut Green Bone and Meat. 

A flock of twenty birds, with perfect freedom, getting all the animal food 
needed in the form of insects and worms, can do nicely during the open 
months without cut bone or scraps. When the frosts come and insect life is 
still, and worms are not in reach, then it is necessary to supply the animal 
food that the system craves. Birds confined to yards need a constant supply. 
No doubt a little animal food every day is nature's way ; but in feeding green 
bone I have found that two full meals a week give good results. Feed at noon 
all the birds will eat. If away from markets, or unable to get a full supply ol 
bone near by, any of the ground meat, bone or blood meals will be found 
to give good results when fed in morning mash. If cut bone or meat meals 
cannot be obtained, scraps will answer the purpose. 

Grain. 

Nearly every grain can be used at some time to advantage. Wheat stands 
first as a well balanced food, followed by barley. Corn and buckwheat are 
quite fattening, and should be used sparingly, with discretion. All the grains 
are to be had ground, and form the large part of the morning mash. The mash 
should be well cooked, and fed warm if possible. Find out how much the 
hens will eat if allowed their choice, and then always give less than a full meal. 
Keep the birds a little hungry until the night meal, and then feed bountifully. 
Fowls are early risers, and seek a breakfast about sunrise. Both old and young 
birds need food when they begin to look for it. To lie in bed until the sun has 
been up two or three hours, may be pleasant to the sleeper ; but he will never 
be a successful hen-man. Not only do the chicks want food and water, but 
they are anxious to get out of the close brooder house or roosting coop into the 
pure air and sunshine. 



8 FARM-PO ULTRT DO CTOR. 

Mash for young chicks must be well cooked. Half-done food will produce 
diarrhoea. I always bake mine in the oven two hours. 

In feeding condiments to young or old birds, do not make the mistake of 
using too much. A little will supply a need that really exists ; but more than 
is needed will overdo the matter, and produce liver disease. 

It is good practice to keep birds of different ages and conditions in separate 
flocks. The large and small birds do not each require the same proportion of 
food. 

Consumptive persons or animals should not be allowed near poultry. 

Scaly-legged birds will spread the disease to young chicks, and even to 
those birds on the roost with them. 

Quarantine all new birds, and dust with insect powder every addition to 
the flock. 

Anaemia. 

By this we mean a condition of the blood itself, characterized by lightness in 
color, less albumen than in health, and under the microscope the red-blood 
corpuscles are seen to be less in number than normal. Anaemia is due in most 
cases to lack of proper food, or air, or sunshine. Anaemia from either of 
these causes may induce other diseases. Anaemia from bad air, or want of 
light, brings on indigestion, which only intensifies the trouble. When we 
know the important part oxygen takes in the animal economy it becomes plain 
why fowls kept in close crowded houses become weak, with light red (or 
yellow) combs and wattles, and fall a prey to roup and other diseases. The 
scratching shed plan provides two of the three "needfuls" to healthy poultry 
— air and sunshine. If to these be added proper food, anaemia will seldom 
be seen. 

An anaemic fowl is tough to eat, and hard to digest — not fit for food. 

Treatment. — Find the cause, and remove it. Do the birds need more 
sunlight, better air, or an improved " bill of fare?" See that the droppings 
do not accumulate and poison the air ; that dust and cobwebs do not shut out 
the sunshine; that a false idea of economy does not keep you from feeding a 
well balanced ration. Tonics will be needed to improve digestion. Tincture 
of iron one teaspoonful, ten drops tincture mix vomica to one pint drinking 
water, will be useful to increase the appetite and tone up the nervous system. 
Anaemia is not so common to-day as it was ten years ago, owing to more care 
and better understanding of the fowls' needs. 

Debility. 

This is the condition known by poultrymen as " going light." It is seen 
both in chicks and fowls. There is hardly a flock of one hundred chicks where 
one or two of the birds do not, when about ten weeks old, grow thin, weak, 
with a dry skin, and die. Then in the fall or early winter birds sent to 
exhibitions or shipped to distant points, from one cause or another, lose 
appetite, " go light," and die. Late in the winter many a bird that has been 



FARM-PO UL TR Y D O CTOR. 9 

over-stimulated, and probably over-fat, "goes light." That there is a cause for 
this condition in chicks we have no doubt; but why it takes one or two birds 
and leaves the other fifty or more in splendid shape, we do not know. When 
it appears in exhibition birds it seems to be due to shock from rough handling, 
or new surroundings. In the full grown bird it is often the " breaking down " 
from an over-fat unhealthy condition. 

Vertigo. 

This is dizziness or " swimming" of the head, making the bird turn round 
and round. It is due primarily to brain-pressure, and secondary to some 
abnormal condition of the digestive system. It is sometimes caused by fright. 
It is most common in over-fat birds. 

Symptoms. — The bird is seen to elevate its head, turning it as though it was 
trying to look at the sky through one eye, moving around in a circle, followed 
in severe attacks by falling to the ground, and lying there with a tremor in the 
muscles. 

Treatment. — A laxative of castor oil, followed by a diet not rich in fat or 
fat-forming foods, will be all the treatment needed. 

Cholera. 

Cholera is an epidemic disease, affecting the mucous surfaces, and always 
accompanied by diarrhoea. It is rarely seen in this country in the true Asiatic 
type ; that we have is of a less severe character. It is more often seen in wet 
weather with a high temperature, filthy surroundings, improperly balanced 
rations of food, and lack of care. Cholera will attack a flock that is rightly 
housed, fed, and in a healthy location if a bird with the disease is introduced 
into it, or even if the droppings from an affected bird are brought in any way 
(as on the shoes), so that they get into the food or water of the flock. 

Cholera attacks all breeds, old and young birds, strong and weak, alike. 
The older and stronger birds seem to be affected with this disease quicker than 
the chicks and weak birds, and die in less time. Cholera is seldom seen in 
settled cold weather ; in fact a sudden freeze often does more to control this 
trouble than the medicines we use in its treatment. A thaw in mid-winter is 
sometimes the occasion of a violent outbreak of cholera where the disease has 
been previously introduced into the place. 

When birds are dying of bowel diseases in large numbers on neighboring 
farms, a vigilant watch should be kept that no possible way of contagion or 
infection be opened. New birds added to a poultry plant ought always to be 
quarantined ; yet how seldom do we observe this safe method. 

Cholera is a rapid disease. Your bird is seen to be sick to-dav, and to-night 
or to-morrow, or possiblv the second twenty-four hours, finds it dead. These 
first cases nearly always die. It is only bv recognizing the disease you have to 
contend with, that you have anv hope of saving anv of your birds. 

When seen early the bird is dull, moves about slowly, is inclined to get into 
a sunny corner and mope. The feathers are ruffled, and those near the vent 



IO FARM-PO UL TRY DO CTOR. 

are wet and stuck together with the diarrhceal discharge. The muscles are 
relaxed, letting the wings droop ; the feet drag when walking, the eyelids fall, 
the head is carried on one side, the bowel discharges running away. The 
appetite is lost, but there is a strong desire for water. The bird is seen slowly 
walking back and forth between the warm corner and the drinking vessel. 
The diarrhceal matter is at first slightly thick, but soon becomes watery and 
frothy. 

As the disease progresses, the bird can hardly stand, and the bowel discharge 
is often streaked with blood. The mucous membranes of the body now become 
inflamed, and a frothy discharge is seen to come from the mouth, eyes and 
nostrils. The comb grows darker in color — sometimes purple. 

Prof. Hill says : " The bird is disinclined to move, and either stands with 
its back raised, the wings being away from the body and drooped, or squats on 
the ground with its beak in the earth and the wings spread out. The breathing 
is short and labored, the crest swollen and black in color, the vision almost 
lost, the plumage lustreless, and finally the bird dies in a state of stupor or 
convulsions." 

Post-mortem appearances, according to Prof. Hill, in his new edition of the 
" Diseases of Poultry," the best European book we have, are : " Lining 
membrane of the mouth livid, except toward the outside, which was pale ; 
throat purple and full of sticky dirty-yellowish matter; tip of tongue hardened 
and partly detached ; eyes sunk deep into the sockets, eyelids emphysematous 
or swollen ; gizzard empty, except a little gravel and thin acid fluid ; muscular 
substance of a deep red color ; intestines extensively inflamed, with extravasated 
blood patches under the mucous membrane ; and here and there corrosions. 
The matter contained in the intestines was of a dirty thin ichorous, or acrid 
nature ; liver deeply congested and increased in volume ; lungs slightly con- 
gested and pleuritic exudation ; heart purplish-red and studded with ecchymose 
or extravasated blood spots ; pericardium contained an excessive amount of 
straw-colored fluid." 

Treatment. — A disease running its course in two or three days, and so 
uniformly fatal, necessarily demands an early and vigorous treatment. First 
remove every bird with diarrhoea to a house or place away from the well birds. 
At once see that water-dishes are perfectly clean. In those of the diseased 
birds keep for drink the following : water, one quart ; spirit of camphor, one- 
half teaspoonful ; sulpho-carbolate of zinc, one-fourth ounce. Give the appar- 
ently well birds for drink : water, one quart, sulpho-carbolate of zinc, one- 
eighth ounce. If there is violent diarrhoea give every two hours a tablet or pill 
of Dover's powder (one grain each). This will relieve some of the pain, and 
lessen the number of discharges. A diet of meat juice is best for a cholera 
case. This can be made from round steak, and given with a spoon or glass 
dropping tube. All the houses must be cleaned at once from all filth ; white- 
wash and carbolic acid used thoroughly. Fresh earth should be spread on the 
floors of the buildings, and the yards be plowed or spaded. All birds that die 
should be burned. 



FARM-PO UL TR T DOC TOR. 1 1 

Cholera rarely visits the poultry plant of the man who houses carefully, feeds 
intelligently, and quarantines all sick or new birds. A heavy wet soil is a 
factor that enters into the spread of this disease. Such a location is certainly 
not the right one, — if possible should be avoided. The crowding year after 
year of birds into yards so small that weeds and grass have no chance to grow, 
in time causes the soil to become extremely filthy, and a good breeding place 
for cholera. Such yards should be seeded to grass or some crop and allowed 
to lie unused for a year or two. True cholera is a rare disease, but when it 
enters a flock few escape from its deadly clutches. Let us hope you will never 
make its acquaintance. 

Diphtheria. 

Diphtheria is a dangerous and quite fatal disease. It is contagious, being 
given by one bird to another, directly or through the medium of food or drinking 
water. The " canker " seen at the winter shows is a mild form of diphtheria. 
This disease is most common where houses or surroundings are damp and 
filthy. It is usually seen during the cold months of the year. Diphtheria is 
sometimes introduced into a flock through new stock that is diseased. The 
contracting this and other diseases of poultry might be more often avoided if 
some plan of quarantine was adopted by those who buy new birds. 

Symptoms. — Diphtheria, when first noticed, shows itself by great depres- 
sion of spirits accompanied by signs of catarrh. The feathers are ruffled, the 
bird looks sleepy, the neck is held as if it was stiff. In a day or two there is a 
slight discharge from nostrils, and a sticky fluid from the mouth. Looking 
into the mouth, it will be found partly full of the sticky fluid, with string-like 
pieces mixed with the fluid, especially toward the back of the throat. As time 
goes on the fluid becomes more thick and strong smelling. The back of the 
mouth and all the throat are at first bright red, then purple, in those places not 
covered by the membrane. As in the human throat in diphtheria, so in that of 
poultry, any attempt to remove or pull off the thick leader membrane leads to 
bleeding. This membrane increases in size, and finally runs together, shutting 
closely the opening of the larynx, causing by suffocation the death of the bird. 

These cases take from five to fifteen days for a full run of this disease. If a 
case improves there is some trouble for several days in swallowing food, and 
quite often the bird loses the use of legs and wings for weeks. 

Treatment. — To successfully handle this disease the bird should be in a 
warm room of even temperature, where the air can be kept moist by boiling 
water. The discharge should be carefully wiped off* the mouth and throat. 
Then with a metal or quill tube blow sulphide of calcium in fine powder all 
over the mucous membranes. This should be done three or four times a day. 
If the patient is able to take food, put one grain of the calcium sulphide into a 
little warm mash, and give before each application of the powder to the throat. 

Dr. Hill advises : — " The inhalation of acid vapor is also serviceable ; one 
ounce of acetic acid to a pint of boiling water. The bird's head should be held 
with the mouth open over the steam for five or ten minutes at a time, and this 



i2 FARM-POULTRY DOCTOR. 

should be repeated several times during the day, always previously mopping 
the throat and mouth out with carbolized water. When shreds or specks 
appear, the parts should be painted with tannic acid and glycerine (tannic acid 
five grains to glycerine one ounce) , tincture of per-chloride of h-on and glycer- 
ine (tincture per-chloride of iron ten minims to glycerine one ounce), or a 
solution of nitrate of silver, ten grains to the ounce of water." 

For diet, give milk, raw egg, and beef juice. If unable to swallow, the food 
may be given by the bowel, and if not given in this way the bird will probably 
die. If the severe symptoms grow less and less, and the patient passes safely 
the danger point, tonics should be given. The best I know in these cases is 
Fellows' syrup hvpophosphites compound, five drops three times a day. 

Canker. 

Canker is a mild form of diphtheria. It is seen quite often in Game birds, 
especially in birds that have been exposed to cold while on their way to and 
from the winter shows. The bird is slightly dumpish, has some little difficulty 
in swallowing, and seems to try to swallow even though it is taking neither 
food or water. The usual treatment is to apply or blow upon the sore patches 
in mouth and throat finely powdered dry chlorate of potash. 

Diphtheria is as likely to attack the strong vigorous bird as one that is weak 
or delicate. If a case appears it should at once be isolated, and the remainder 
of the birds given the best of care. Tincture of iron, one teaspoonful to a 
quart of drinking water, is a good tonic to use during any sickness to tone up 
the well birds and ward off disease. 

Catarrh. 

This is an inflammation of mucous membranes caused commonly by exposure 
to wet or cold. It may be seen as a mild watery diarrhoea, or a slight mucous 
discharge from nostrils and eyes. As a "cold," it is to be distinguished from 
roup by the mild attack, by absence of odor, and by the tendency to get well 
without active treatment. That there is a line drawn between roup and catarrh, 
I have no doubt ; but I know of no symptoms in the early stages of these dis- 
eases that surely determine one trouble from the other. 

It is well in the beginning of either disease to bathe eyes, nostrils and throat 
with a solution of sulphate quinine, ten grains to two ounces warm water. If 
this does not check the trouble in a day or two, then treat as directed under 
" Roup." 

Roup. 

The word roup is probably derived from croup, an inflammatory disease of 
the larynx and trachea in the human biped. Roup is a purulent catarrhal 
atlection of the air passages. 

CAUSKS. — Roup is the result of close air, extreme variations in tempera- 
ture between day and night, damp houses, draughts, improper food, and filthy 
water. It is a contagious disease, and large numbers have been lost from the 






FARM-PO UL TRT D OCTOR. 



n 



thoughtless introduction of a roupy bird into a healthy flock. Over-feeding or 
under-feeding, stagnant water, anything in food or drink that lowers the vital- 
ity of the fowl, is one factor in the process that sometimes ends in roup. A 
damp location of house, a leaky roof or cracks that admit draughts, often lead 
to catarrh or roup. A hen-house that is cleaned out only semi-occasionally, 
especially if damp, is a good breeding place for catarrhal diseases. Inbreed- 
ing, the closer the more danger, weakens the vitality so that catarrh too often 
finds a ready victim. 

Symptoms. — Roup begins with a catarrhal inflammation of the mucous 
membranes of nostrils and eyes, is characterized by redness and swelling of 
these membrane, the discharge first watery, and lastly becomes muco-purulent. 

At first the discharge is thin, and breathing is not interfered with, but as the 
disease progresses respiration becomes more difficult from clogging of nostrils 
and throat. 

Early in the disease air bubbles appear at the nostrils, and often in the eyes ; 
as the discharge thickens the nostrils become clogged ; sometimes the exuda- 
tion gets cheesy, and from obstruction in the throat the bird dies. Emaciation 
appears as the disease progresses, caused by the fever and loss of appetite. 
Some cases are ushered in by swelled heads and ulcers in mouth. These are 
often fatal. 

Sometimes in buying stock you think that the bird has had roup, but are not 
sure. Look under the wings, and often you will find the dried catarrhal dis- 
charge on the feathers, left from the nostrils when the bird put her " head under 
her wing, poor thing." 

Course, Duration. — A mild case of catarrh or " cold" will run along 
without any treatment for several weeks. If given good care, proper housing, 
and right medication, a week's time ought to see it well. 

A severe case, when there is swelled head and " strong-smelling " discharge, 
if left to itself will die in from five to twelve days. 

Treatment. — When you find many remedies offered for the cure of a dis- 
ease, you may be sure that it is a trouble that is dangerous to life. 

For the cure of roup, we are offered nearly as many different medicines as 
there are writers. " Sure cures " are numerous, '* warranted to cure or money 
refunded." But alas ! they often fail. Yet much can be done to abort, and in 
the early stages, to cure. 

Every " cold " or slight catarrh should be early taken in hand. Local treat- 
ment is of first importance, constitutional second. 

If there is sneezing while on the roost at night, or a little watery discharge 
from nostrils or eyes, inject with an atomizer the following solution : Extract 
witch hazel four tablespoonfuls, carbolic acid three drops, water two table- 
spoonfuls. Four or five squeezes of the bulb into each nostril, and two 
squeezes into the mouth three times a day, will do much to relieve the catarrhal 
condition of the mucous membranes. Isolate the bird, giving soft food, and 
water containing ginger. 



14 FARM-PO ULTRT DO CTOR. 

It is necessary whenever a roupy bird is found in a flock, the drinking dishes 
be very carefully cleansed with boiling water in which a little carbolic acid has 
been added. 

If you find a bird with the enlarged head, semi-thick mucous discharge, and 
a dumpish condition, take one part of " Piatt's chlorides " and five parts warm 
water, put the mixture into a tin dish, dip the head into the solution for an 
instant, and then with a clean soft cloth wipe the comb and neck dry. Do this 
several times a day. Feed carefully, and keep in as even temperature as 
possible. 

For severe cases, characterized by enlarged head, canker in mouth, a very 
disagreeable discharge from eyes and nostrils, I follow this plan : Take a bucket 
three-fourths full of water, add slowly one gill kerosene oil. This will remain 
on the water. Take the diseased bird by legs and head and dip the head into 
the oil so that the eyes are covered. A moment's pause, then take out the head 
and wipe dry. The feathers may come off, surely will if you are too slow in 
taking out, or in drying the bird. 

This simple treatment has been successful where roup pills and " dilutions " 
have been used in vain. 

A very intimate friend of mine, who has been raising poultry successfully 
for twenty years, tells me that he tried in vain nearly all the advertised cures 
for roup. At last he thought he would try coal oil. It proved successful. He 
soon afterward had occasion to repeat it, with the same result. Last spring on 
visiting a neighbor's poultry yard, he found him at work on a large number of 
birds sick with roup in its worst form. This neighbor, who by the way, was 
an " M. D.," had been using all his skill to cure by use of various medicines. 
The hens were dying every day. " Five cents worth of kerosene oil will cure 
them," my friend said. The hens were taken, put through the treatment, using 
fresh oil for every five birds, and there were no more deaths. The same plan 
has been used since then by another man of my acquaintance, with the same 
good result. 

Prof. J. Woodroffe Hill, in his "Diseases of Poultry," an English work, 
recommends the early use of steam' from carbolized water ; the cleansing of 
eyes and nostrils with weak alum water ; internally a grain or two of quinine 
in a teaspoonful of port wine ; the food to be warm bread and milk to which a 
little pepper or mustard has been added. In severe cases he advises that the 
matter in throat and nostrils be removed and syringed with a mild solution of 
chloride of zinc. 

The editor of Farm-Poultry, in his articles upon " Colds and Roup," 
advises the use of the following treatment : " A tablespoonful of clear lard, 
half a tablespoonful each of ginger, cayenne pepper and mustard ; mix well 
together, and then add flour till the whole has the consistency of dough, roll 
into slugs about the size of the top joint of the little finger, and put one down 
the patient's throat. The dose can be repeated in twelve or twenty-four hours, 
according as the case seems to need it; but one slug frequently cures, if the 
case be taken in time. For swelled head we bathe with a glycerine-turpentine 



FARM-PO UL TR Y D O CTOR. 15 

lotion made of one part spirits turpentine to six parts glycerine ; and for sneez- 
ing cold and swelled head combined, use both remedies ; if the patient does not 
show signs of improvement within three days after beginning treatment, take 
off its head and bury or burn it." 

We earnestly protest against the use for breeding of any bird that has had a 
severe attack of roup. Do not do it ! You will surely lower the vitality of 
your stock. 

Prof. Cushman, of the Rhode Island agricultural experiment station, says in 
his report : " A lot of cockerels bought of Sharp, of New York state, had the 
foulest kind of roup when received. Part were killed, and the others cured 
after a long course of treatment ; but they were continually getting out of con- 
dition, and the mortality among their chickens was large." 

In roup, as in most other troubles, " an ounce of prevention is worth a 
pound of cure." 

I have been watching this fall the effect of kerosene upon twenty cockerels 
sick with roup. They had reached the stage when the house where they were 
was very disagreeable to go into, and the discharge from the nose was thick 
and "strong smelling." The kerosene was poured upon a pail of water so 
that the oil was an eighth of an inch deep. The birds were taken one at a time 
and dipped into the pail until the eyes were covered. They were held there 
for an instant, and then slowly withdrawn. A film of oil was kept upon the 
top of the drinking water for three days. One bird was killed, as he was in a 
low condition when treated, and the others slowly improved, were sold in fine 
condition to the butcher forty days after the first treatment. 

Gapes. 

Among the diseases of poultry that occur in the experience of the unhappy 
hen-man, resulting from internal parasites, is " gapes." The disease is caused 
by the irritation of the lining of the windpipe, and is aggravated by the blood 
lost in supporting the life of the parasite. 

This parasite is a worm known as Syngamus trachealis. It is introduced 
from a previous case. This worm has been known and written about for more 
than one hundred years. It is the cause of death to millions of chicks and wild 
birds the world over. I have known of it destroying one-half of a flock of full 
grown chickens in the autumn of the year. Gapes is a disease of warm and 
damp weather, late summer and early fall months, damp and filthy houses, and 
wet clay soil. It is probable that the worm or eggs must be brought from an 
infected bird or soil before the trouble will manifest itself. It is possible that 
this worm is a natural parasite of the earth worm ; at any rate, in infected sec- 
tions of country it is found in earth worms at all seasons of the year. In 1SS5, 
Dr. H. D. Walker, of New York state, was employed by the United States 
agricultural department to experiment with the gape worm. He found that if 
the newly hatched embryos were introduced into a chick, in eight days there 
were to be found in the trachea full grown gape worms. The eggs need a 
temperature of above thirty degrees to live, and are killed by freezing. 



1 6 FA RM-PO ULTRT DOC TOR. 

The worm as found is about one-half inch long ; and what appears to be a 
double headed worm is two worms permanently united for breeding. There 
is a red color to the worm caused by the bird's blood upon which it thrives. 

Symptoms. — At first there is a slight cough, as if there was a little dust in 
the throat ; this is followed by the symptom that gives the name to the trouble 
— gaping or gasping. As the worm continues to live on the mucous mem- 
brane of the windpipe, it irritates the lining, causing a catarrhal discharge to 
be spit up. The lining thickens, the mucous becomes stringy, the windpipe is 
nearly filled with mucous, and the bird has to work to get air enough to live 
upon. If not suffocated at this time the inflammation extends to the lungs, and 
death follows. An examination will show the presence of the worms in the 
windpipe. Bronchitis and pneumonia are sometimes supposed to be " gapes," 
but a post-mortem will surely show the difference. 

Treatment. — That this is a serious and hard disease to handle, is made 
plain by the many and various remedies proposed for its cure. The same 
worm, if its natural home was in the bowel or upon the skin, would cause 
much less trouble — but the size of the windpipe is fixed, and any swelling of 
its lining only makes smaller the passage for air. 

Garlics, assafoetida, turpentine, carbolic acid, onion tops, in the drinking 
water, have been used with fair success. Air-slaked lime, carbolic acid fumes, 
or the steam from boiling vinegar, are all advocated by various writers. 

To remove the worms from the throat, the best plan seems to be to use a long 
wire with horse-hair bent into loops at its end. This is introduced into the 
windpipe, turned once or twice, then withdrawn. The worms become 
entangled in the loops, and are thus caught. This is a slow process. Another 
plan is to have a large box with a door in the side, and covered on top with 
coarse cloth. A few birds are put into the box, then air-slaked lime is dusted 
upon the cloth. The birds breathe in the dust, it seems to make the worms 
relax their hold upon the membrane, and by the coughing caused by the lime 
the worms are ejected. The same box can be used in trying carbolic acid. 
The birds are put in as before, but upon a platform of laths one foot from the 
bottom of the box. Then on a red-hot brick pour one teaspoonful carbolic 
acid. Two or three exposures kill the worms, and careful watching is need- 
ful to prevent the birds being killed also. Vale says: "The passing of a 
feather dipped in oil of turpentine or paraffin, though an effectual remedy, is. 
at the same time a highly dangerous one." 

If any changes are needful in houses or yards, make them at once. The 
houses should be dry, light, and kept clean. Do not crowd the birds. Give 
fresh water often, adding one teaspoonful carbolic acid to each gallon. Feed 
some onion tops and bulbs, as green food. If the yards are badly infected, 
seed to grass, and do not use them for two years. Poultry plants on damp 
soil, into which gapes has been introduced, had better be given up, and a new 
start made in a better location. Under such circumstances make the new 
beginning with eggs, and hatch in incubator. Buy all fresh blood in the egg,. 
and hatch them yourself. 



FARM-PO UL TR T DO CTOR. 1 7 

If obliged to remain in the old location, treat all diseased birds until cured, 
being sure to kill all worms that are extracted, and burning all birds that die. 

Not all birds that gasp or gape have "gapes." If you have several sick 
chicks kill one and examine windpipe for the worms. 

To treat a case of pneumonia or bronchitis with lime or carbolic acid would 
be sure death. The presence of the worms themselves is the only sure " sign " 
that you have the " gapes " in your flock, and is a sad reminder that you have 
a long road to travel before the last worm disappears from your poultry plant. 

Diseases of the Lungs. 

Bronchitis and pneumonia are diseases of the organs of respiration. Bron- 
chitis is not properly a lung trouble, but a disease of the mucous membrane 
lining the bronchial tubes. It is thought best to consider it in connection with 
pneumonia, as the diseases are often confounded. 

Bronchitis. 

A catarrh of the mucous lining of the air tubes. It varies from a slight cold 
that is hardly discernible, to such an outpouring of mucous that life is in danger 
from drowning. 

Causes. — The sensitive membrane of the bronchial tubes is easily inflamed 
by extreme changes in the weather, by dust, from exposure to a damp current 
of air, or by extension of a mucous inflammation of the head or throat. 

This disease is most common during the fall of the year, before the young 
birds have been taken to their winter quarters, especially if the houses are 
filthy and the weather cold and damp. Exhibition birds are liable to this 
trouble because of the sudden change from the hot and close show room to the 
cold draught of the express truck. We have seen birds with their mouths 
open, panting for breath, in the close hall, and then left for five hours on the 
station platform in a west wind below freezing. It is hard to understand how 
many birds escape catarrhal troubles under such trying ciixumstances. 

Birds having roupy ancestors often fall a prey to bronchial troubles. The 
use of air-slaked lime while the birds were in the house, has been known to 
produce bronchitis. 

Symptoms. — When suddenly attacked with bronchitis, there is increased 
heat with dryness of the mucous surfaces. The bird is inclined to keep near 
the water dish, and tries in vain to satisfy its thirst. There is a little cough at 
first, and close listening will detect a whistling noise with each respiration. As 
the disease progresses the secretion increases, and the sound heard will be 
more rattling than whistling in character. 

Treatment. — In the first stages of bronchitis an effort should be made to 
abort the trouble. This is done by giving aconite — one drop of the tincture 
every hour for five hours, and then once in three hours. If the bird can be 
kept in a moist warm air it will help in soothing the engorged membranes. 
The food should be a hot mash of at least one-half bran. 



1 8 FA RM-PO ULTRT DOC TOR. 

If under any treatment the disease progresses into the chronic stage (and this 
you will have no difficulty in telling by the peculiar rattle that we have all 
heard at times when visiting the poultry house after dark), then a different 
line of treatment will be required. The best is the use for weeks of a little 
pill made of strychnine, iron and quinine, known as " Dumas Antimalarial." 
One pill should be given morning and night. Good care and the use of this 
pill will cure nine-tenths of these cases. 

Pneumonia. 

This is an inflammation of the air cells of the lungs. In the large majority 
of cases it proves fatal. Every year seems to increase the belief that this dis- 
ease is contagious. 

Causes. — Close confinement to warm houses, followed by a sudden expos- 
ure to cold, damp storm. Babying brooder chicks (thinking that good care 
consists in keeping them where they cannot run on to the earth or out of the 
warm house to fresh pure air) , makes them tender, and an easy prey to pneu- 
monia. The open front scratching sheds for fowls (and for chicks, too), will 
do more to prevent jDneumonia than medicine will to cure it. There is always 
danger that bronchitis may extend to the air cells. Chicks not feathered, 
caught out in a heavy rain, easily contract pneumonia — and such cases are 
usually fatal. 

Symptoms. — Bird is hot, with short labored breathing. Every effort seems 
to be directed toward getting air enough to live on. Putting the ear to the 
chest walls, a crackling noise may be heard. The bird makes no effort to 
move about, but stands with lowered wings, panting for breath. 

Treatment. — Keep the bird in a room of about 70 deg., with steam from 
boiling water if possible. Give every six hours one grain phenacetin and one 
grain sulpho-carbolate of zinc, mixed with bread crumbs enough to make a pill. 
Feed on raw egg and milk. Do not give quinine or spirits. Tincture aconite 
in the drinking water, or one drop every two hours in the egg and milk, will 
help control the hard breathing. 

If successful in saving the bird, build up its strength with tonics, such as mix 
vomica or quinine. 

The more I study poultry diseases and their treatment the more convinced I 
am that one-half the time spent in curing sick birds would prevent nine-tenths 
of all the ailments fowls are heir to. When will people learn that stagnant 
drinking water precedes many a case of " cholera," and filthy houses lead to 
many attacks of roup ? 

Pip. 

This is not a disease, but is a dry condition of the tongue apjDearing in pneu- 
monia, bronchitis, roup, and catarrh. It is caused by rapid breathing through 
the mouth, removing the moisture from the tongue, and causing the tip to 
become dry and hard. Do not try to remove the dry tip, but treat the disease 
that causes it, and wet the tongue with glycerine. 



FARM-PO UL TR 2' DO CTOR. 



'9 



Consumption and Tuberculosis. 

These diseases show symptoms both alike and unlike. They may exist 
together in the lungs, or be found separately in two different organs of the 
body. Hereditary influence plays an important part in the causation of both 
diseases. Birds raised from roupy, weak or narrow-chested stock, fall an easy 
prey to these troubles. 

Damp quarters, unbalanced or insufficient food, persistent inbreeding of 
weak birds, all tend toward a condition of body favorable to the production 
of tuberculosis or consumption. Conditions likely to produce roup are sure to 
lead to more or less consumption ; and if the germs of tuberculosis are about 
the yards, that disease may follow. Tuberculous persons or animals on the 
place are sources of danger not to be overlooked. Avoid both these diseases 
— by careful care of young stock ; not over-crowding, or keeping in damp or 
filthy houses or yards ; not breeding from stock previously sick with any illness ; 
quarantining all birds bought from new sources. Better breed from strong, 
vigorous stock that are off some in feathers than to use some of the " little 
beauties" scoring high in the show room, but of weak bodies and poor health. 
Inbreeding for "points" has caused many a fine flock to degenerate to that 
condition in which consumption and tuberculosis are easily acquired, and years 
of otherwise well spent efforts entirely lost. We are told of instances where 
inbreeding has been followed for years and with good results ; true — but it 
does not pay to take the risk, because it is too great. 

Consumption. 

Consumption is a disease primarily of the lungs. It follows closely after 
pneumonia, bronchitis, or roup. Following one of these diseases we notice 
that the cough continues, the body grows thin, the bird is weak and listless, 
and possibly diarrhoea sets in. The food is passed from the bowels in much 
the same condition as when eaten. When any of these symptoms are seen the 
bird should at once be put in a clean dry coop. When satisfied that the trouble 
is consumption, kill and burn or bury deep. Treatment is useless, and a fatal 
end sure. 

Tuberculosis. 

Tuberculosis is of a greater intensity than consumption. It differs from con- 
sumption by a higher fever, more pronounced cough, rapid wasting, quick 
breathing. It is a germ — bacillus — that takes an active part in the causation 
as well as the course of tuberculosis. A cow on the place that has a persistent 
cough, grows thin, and has diarrhoea, is a source of positive danger to any 
poultry that has access to barn, barnyard or pasture. 

No sick hen should be allowed to remain with the flock even one night. 
Every poultry plant, however small, should have its hospital, even though it 
be a dry goods box. When you think you have a case of tuberculosis you 
should at once clean the pen and yard it was in. Do this thoroughly, using 
last of all a wash of strong carbolic acid. This can be well applied by means 
of a tin hand pump or a knapsack sprayer. The sick fowl should be killed at 
once, and burned. Take no chances of further trouble from simply burying. 



20 FARM- POULTRY DOCTOR. 

If you wish to try medication in either of these diseases, give any good 
emulsion of cod liver oil combined with hypophosphites, one-half teaspoonful 
mixed into one tablespoonful of mash, three times a day. Syrup hydriodic 
acid, ten drops three times a day, will help many a bad cough, and in the early 
stages of consumption will sometimes arrest the disease. 

I wish to impress upon every reader that to breed from any bird that ever 
had any severe sickness, is perfect folly ; and to sell eggs for hatching from such 
a fowl, or to ship such a bird for breeding purposes, is positively wrong. 

Prof. Hill, in "Poultry" of May u, 1894, writes as follows: — "The 
broadest fact established regarding the exciting cause of tuberculous deposit is 
that the domesticated animal is more liable to tubercular disease than the same 
animal in a wild state. The stabled cow, the penned sheep, the tame rabbit, 
the monkey, the caged lion, tiger or elephant, are almost invariably cut oft" by 
tuberculous affections, no doubt due to deficient ventilation and the abeyance 
of normal exercise of the pulmonary functions. Compare the ordinary barn- 
door fowl with the highly bred show bird as to vigor, stamina, and freedom 
from hereditary disease, and the former, generally speaking, shows the cleanest 
bill of health. For this reason — it lives in a more natural condition, is not 
crammed with artificial food, or dosed with uack nostrums, and gets what 
grit it chooses to find without being supplier with any special form. The 
ravages of tuberculosis in the human family are too patent to ignore its gravity 
in the lower creation, and the poultry fancier will best consult his own interests 
in studiously avoiding breeding from or purchasing birds of scrofulous or 
tuberculous taint, and in the event of the disease manifesting itself, to dispose 
of his stock, thoroughly disinfect his ground, and after a sufficient interval 
import fresh and pure blood." 

Dropsy of Heart Sack. 

This is the only disease of the heart at all common in poultry, and is seldom 
thought of while the bird is alive. Hill gives the symptoms as seen in a case 
that was proved to be this disease by a post mortem : " Restlessness, moping, 
head continually thrown backwards, inability to feed from the ground, and 
when attempted, reeling and staggering backwards, tumultuous action of heart, 
occasional spasms." 

Diseases of the Crop. 
Impaction. 

The crop often becomes impacted, or filled to distention, with food or foreign 
substances. Sometimes this mass gets dry and hard, so that it cannot pass out 
into the gizzard, and it prevents the passage of food into and through the crop 
passage. Unless relieved, the bird gets thin, comb dry and yellowish, and it 
dies of starvation. 

Among the causes of impaction is the eating of long pieces of hay, especially 
when fowls first get out to the bare ground in spring, and eat the old rowen. 
When at liberty and in time of grass, the hen or chick takes hold of a blade of 



FARM-PO ULTRT DO CTOR. 2 1 

grass. It is fastened to the plant at one end, and the bird shuts its bill upon 
about half an inch of the other, and breaks it off. In confinement the hen 
craves green food, and unless given it in some form will eat the hay given to 
scratch in for grain. The blade is long and loose, and after some effort the 
hen swallows it ; then another and another. Every hen that eats in this way 
does not have impaction of the crop ; but it is dangerous to thus tempt the 
birds, and is one of the common causes of this condition. 

The feeding of food in large quantities (especially at night) of cracked corn, 
sometimes brings on impaction. The hen eats all she can hold of the dry 
grain, and then, before going on the roost, drinks water. This causes the grain 
to swell, distending the crop to large size. Commonly no trouble results, but 
in some cases the mass remains solid, and unless help is given the bird dies for 
want of food, even though its crop is full of grain. 

A very rare cause of impaction is from obstruction of the outlet of the crop 
by large slivers of bone or wood. These lie across the opening or get caught 
in the muscle, and dam back the other food, causing a solid mass to gather. 
It is true that generally a hen can pass out of the crop any substance that it can 
swallow. 

Treatment. — Having a case of impacted crop, proceed as follows : Cause 
the bird to swallow a tablespoonful of castor oil ; then knead carefully the hard 
mass. If successful in softening it, hold the hen head downward and try to 
push the substance along and out of the mouth. If swelled grain is the cause 
of the trouble, you will probably be successful; but if matted hay or corn stalk 
makes up the mass, you will have to open the crop. 

If some one can hold the bird for you it will make the operation more easy. 
Pluck out a few feathers, and then cut through the skin over the crop, a line 
about one inch long. This cut should be in the medium line of the body. 
Then make an incision three-fourths of an inch long through the crop. The 
distention of the crop will cause the opening to gape, and the mass will be in 
plain sight. With toothpicks, blunt pointed scissors, tweezers, or similar 
tools, begin to take out the contents of the crop. This done, run the finger 
into the crop, and make sure there is nothing remaining to obstruct the outlet 
of the organ. When sure all is right, take three or four stitches in the opening 
in the crop, making each stitch by itself, and tying a knot that will not slip. 
Then do the same thing to the cut in the skin. For stitches use white silk, or 
(if nothing better can be obtained) common cotton thread, number sixty, can 
be used. 

Keep the bird by herself for a week, feeding soft food. 

Inflammation. 

This is caused by eating irritant material, such as unslaked lime, paint skins, 
" rough-on-rats " (phosphorus), and occasionally from feeding too much spice. 
With inflammation, a bird is restless, moving here and there, then for a while 
standing still with head depressed, and often trying to vomit; breathing jerky. 



22 FARM-PO ULTRT DO CTOR. 

If you know the cause of the inflammation it will help in determining the 
course of treatment. If unslaked lime has been taken, give for drink vinegar 
water. If phosphorus, give magnesia. If lead (paint) has been eaten, give 
six drops of diluted sulphuric acid in three tablespoonfuls of warm water. In 
all these cases try to empty the crop, by holding the hen head downward, and 
working the contents of crop toward the mouth. If crop is nearly empty, give 
warm water to furnish something to work upon. 

After the crop is empty, give for drink flax seed tea, and feed lightly for 
several days. 

Enlarged Crop. 

"Slack crop," "pendulous crop," this is sometimes called. This results 
from feeding at irregular intervals. No feed is given for a day or even longer, 
then a full feed of grain is thrown down ; the flock fill themselves to fullness, 
drink eagerly of water, the grain swells, the crop is stretched very tightly. 
This is repeated time and again, until the crop loses its power of contraction, 
and remains enlarged. It hangs downward and forward, partly filled with 
food, not having the contractile force to push the food onward in its course. 
The looks of the bird are not a recommendation of your stock. 

To remedy this disease, operate as for impaction, making cuts three times as 
long. Clean out the crop, then with a pair of blunt-pointed scissors cut out 
of the most enlarged part of crop a piece from one to two inches wide and two 
inches long, shaped like a diamond, or pair of (). With silk sew edges 
together as in impaction, and feed soft food for a week. 

Gastritis. 

This is an inflammation of the second stomach, or enlargement of the esoph- 
agus just before it empties into the gizzard. It may be caused by irritant sub- 
stances, such as have been given as producing inflammation of crop; may be 
produced by long continued over-feeding, or the use of too much spice. 

Symptoms. — Poor appetite, constipation alternated with diarrhoea, rapid 
breathing, great general weakness. 

Treatment. — Remove cause, if possible to discover it. Give rice-water 
for drink, soft-mash made with the water in which clover hay has been cooked. 
Arsenite of copper one-fourth grai?i to each quart of the rice water (drink) 
will do for the medicinal treatment. 

Indigestion. 

Indigestion, or dyspepsia, comes as the result of mistakes in care, feeding or 
housing of the birds. It follows the " too-often " meals of a cramming system. 
Birds fed in yards should have time to digest one meal before another is given. 
Chicks ought not to be fed oftener than every two hours, and grown birds need 
only three fnll feeds a day. Lack of exercise from crowded pens, or want of 
opportunity to work for grain or worms, is a factor in indigestion. The 
absence of green food, such as clover, hay, corn-fodder or grass, will in time 
produce dyspepsia. 



FARM-PO ULTRT DOC TOR. 2 \ 

In this condition the bird's appetite is quite changeable, constipation com- 
mon, and the general appearance of the bird is " tired." 

Treatment. — Good housing, pure water, regular feeding of a right ration, 
with plenty of exercise in the open air, will restore to good health nearly every 
case of dyspepsia. A teaspoonful sulphate magnesia to each pint drinking 
water, given for a week, then followed for a month by adding one-fourth grain 
sulphate strychnia to two quarts water, may be needed in case a whole flock 
is affected. 

Diseases of the Liver. 

The diseases of the liver are caused commonly by over- feeding of fat produc- 
ing foods, or by use of too much spice and stimulating substances. 

Congestion. 

This is the first stage in inflammation, but does not always lead to it. It is 
caused by any disease of crop, gizzard or bowels that obstructs the circulation 
of blood. Disease of egg passage is often accompanied by congestion of liver. 

The use of " egg foods," especially if given to hens in close confinement, 
often produces this condition. The feeding of a large proportion of potatoes, 
corn or corn meal, has a tendency to irritate the liver. 

When fowls are attacked with this disease, the early symptoms are : rough 
plumage, watery diarrhoea, first brownish — then yellow. The comb is at first 
of a purple hue, but soon becomes dark, and even black. The bird looks for- 
saken, and shows little desire for food or exercise. 

Treatment. — A teaspoonful of castor oil, or one-half teaspoonful of sul- 
phate magnesia, dissolved in water, given once a day, combined with a diet 
of cut clover in winter or cooping out on grass in summer, will he helpful in 
this disease. If this condition is not soon relieved it passes in the second stage, 
known as hepatitis. 

Inflammation. 

Inflammation, or hepatitis, is nearly always fatal. If allowed to get into 
this stage medicine or care bring little reward. These cases will nearly always 
show a history either of tuberculosis or fatty degeneration. 

Symptoms. — Diarrhoea of a yellow cast, watery often ; appetite poor, but 
thirst increased. The hen sits on floor, and moves seldom except to get drink. 
Breathing is slow and heavy. The bird rapidly loses flesh, and in a week or 
two is little more than skin and bones. 

Treatment. — Unsatisfactory, but is as follows: A teaspoonful of sulphate 
magnesia dissolved in water given at night, and the next morning one-half tea- 
spoonful castor oil. Tincture mix vomica, one-fourth teaspoonful to pint of 
water, to be kept constantly within reach for drink. Feed lightly, on bran 
mashes and green food, avoiding all stimulating foods or medicine. 

Enlargement. 

Enlargement, or hypertrophy is often found in hens kept over the second 
winter. The feeding of too much fatty food, or such foods as tend to lay on 
fat, combined with lack of exercise, are active factors in producing this disease. 



24 FA RM-PO UL TR 7' D O CTOR. 

Symptoms. — When this trouble is fully developed the hen sits most of the 
time on the ground, and late in the disease does not go on to the roost at night. 

Treatment. — Feed as in inflammation of the liver. As drink, give one 
quart of water in which one-half teaspoonful of powdered muriate of ammonia 
has been dissolved. 

Prevention is better than cure, and in this disease, certainly, is more sure to 
give the best results. 

Wasting. 

Wasting, or atrophy of the liver, is not so common as enlargement, but 
still is to be met with in flocks that have had either too little, or a poorly bal- 
anced, food. I have known this to occur in flocks of late hatched pullets that 
the owner tried to keep cheaply because they were not laying, and hence were 
not a source of income to him. 

Symptoms. — The bird is quiet, dumpish, comb and ear-lobes yellowish, 
and does not seem inclined to hunt for food. 

Treatment. — Give the hen her freedom, not confining her to a grassless 
yard, and feed a well balanced ration, not forgetting to give a good supply of 
cut green bone. For medicine put one teaspoonful " Fowler's solution of 
arsenic " in each quart of drinking water, not forgetting to change the water 
daily. 

These diseases of the liver are to be avoided by giving good care and well 
selected foods. A difference should be made in the character and amount of 
food as given to laying hens, and those that are not laying. A hen that is 
resting will put on fat if fed with laying stock. So far as possible keep the 
two classes apart. 

The fatting of birds for the market is the first stage in a process that if con- 
tinued too long ends in fatty degeneration, not only of the liver, but of muscular 
tissue. 

Diseases of the Intestines. 

These cover all troubles existing between the gizzard and the vent. They 
occur alone, or in connection with other diseases of the bird. Improper feed- 
ing, unsanitary surroundings, exposure to cold storms, lack of grit, and in 
some cases infection from other diseased birds, are the leading factors in causa- 
tion of these diseases. 

Constipation. 

This is caused in young chicks by lack of exercise, and absence of green and 
coarse food. Increase the amount of bran, and give lettuce, or cabbage, or 
onion tops. Let them have the waste from barn floor and hay mows. This 
gives them more exercise, and they find many a choice seed or leaf in the heap 
as they work it over. 

In adult birds constipation is not common, but is sometimes seen when stock 
is crowded in close yards, without green food. 



FARM-PO ULTRT DOC TOR. 



Diarrhoea. 



^5 



This is more prevalent than constipation, especially in chicks. Chicks 
suffer from this disease quite young, whether raised in brooder or with the 
mother hen. It is produced sometimes from want of heat. Many a brooder- 
ful of fine chicks has joined the ''silent majority" simply because its owner 
persisted in regulating its heat by a thermometer resting on the warm floor. I 
sometime ago gave up the thermometer in brooders, finding that the appear- 
ance of the chick was the best test of the right temperature. If I find the 
chicks lying near the edge of the fringe of the " mother," with a look of con- 
tentment on each of them, I know the heat is correct; but if they are crowded 
together in the centre, I am certain more heat is needed. I prefer heat enough 
so that some of the heads can be seen thrust out through the fringe. Diarrhoea 
is also caused in chicks from feeding too coarse, half-cooked food. Too much 
bran in mash, or simply mixing it with warm water, often leads to bowel 
troubles. Until my chicks are four weeks old, I bake my " mash " in a hot 
oven at least three hours. The ground grain and meat is mixed with cold 
water or milk, and then put into large milk pans to bake. I take no chances 
from uncooked food, and am certain from my experience that the results pay 
well for the extra time and work needful. A sudden shower sometimes so 
chills the chick that catarrh of the bowels follows. Keep the chicks where dry 
and warm ; add a handful of linseed meal to each panful of feed; and put one 
tablespoonful tincture iron into one quart cold water for drink. Avoid the 
feeding of sour milk to very young chicks. Have grit within reach. 

Hens often have diarrhoea as the result of improper feeding. The feeding 
heavy one day and light the next, upsets digestion, and irritates both crop and 
bow r els. Filthy houses, damp location, stagnant drinking water, cause diar- 
rhoea. Hens breaking down when two years old from being fed too much fat- 
producing food, often have a loose discharge from bowels. It is hens confined 
in yards, and supplied all their food, that usually have diarrhoea. Those at 
liberty and having the run of a barn, seldom suffer from this disease. 

Treatment. — Take from flock and give a grass run ; put tincture iron or 
old nails in drinking water ; feed dry grain — largely wheat. If the case is 
acute and severe, give one teaspoonful castor oil, following it in an hour with 
five grains Dover's powder. 

Dysentery. 

This is characterized by a watery discharge, streaked with more or less blood. 
It is a filth disease, and can be communicated through the discharge to other 
birds. The feeding upon filthy ground, or being obliged to drink water in 
which the droppings of the hens has fallen, will at times bring on this disease. 

A neglected diarrhoea sometimes runs into what looks like dysentery. For 
any of these conditions, take care that water and feed are right; give ten grains 
sulphate magnesia, followed in three hours by five grains Dover's powder. If 
dysentery continues, give two grains Dover's powder morning and night. 
Treatment in these cases is not often successful. There is diarrhoea in scrofula, 
consumption, cholera, and tuberculosis ; and it is considered under those diseases. 



26 FARM-PO ULTRT DO CTOR. 

Diseases of Abdomen. 
Dropsy. 

Dropsy, or ascites, is a watery condition of the abdomen, due to a collection 
of serum in the cavity. When seen in chicks it is usually due to improper 
feeding or bad sanitary surroundings, producing an anaemic condition. In fowls 
it may be caused as in chicks, but is more often due to some obstruction of the 
circulation of the blood, either by pressure of tumor or structural disease of 
abdominal organs. 

Treatment. — Sunshine, good food, and clean houses and runs, combined 
with purgatives and tapping, will help correct this condition. Tapping is done 
by inserting a hollow needle or trochar through the skin and muscles of the 
abdomen into the cavity, and allowing the fluid to escape. Put one table- 
spoonful sulphate magnesia into one quart of drinking water, and use for a few 
days. Follow this with iodide of potassium ten grains to one pint water, to be 
used for drinking. If successful in curing the bird, market it at the earliest 
possible date. Never breed from such birds. 

Enteritis. 

More attention has been given to this disease the past few months than ever 
before. It bears the same relation to diarrhoea that roup does to catarrh. It is 
a severe diarrhoea aggravated, if not caused, by improper feeding, violent 
purgatives, foreign substances, poisons, or following a mild attack of diarrhoea 
or dysentery. Unlike cholera, it is not infectious. If a large number are sick 
with enteritis it is because they all have been exposed to the same causes. 
Enteritis is an inflammatory disease of the small intestine, in mild cases includ- 
ing only the mucous membrane — but in severe attacks extending to all the 
layers of the bowel. 

It is caused by feeding too stimulating or irritant foods ; poisonous vegetable 
or mineral ; large numbers of worms in bowel ; in fact by anything that irri- 
tates or inflames the bowel. There are three sources of danger from poisons 
on many farms — paris green, paint, and unslaked lime. Paris green, when it 
first began to be used, was carefully protected and used with discretion, but of 
late years it may be seen just where it was most convenient to drop the box, 
and the pails are left in some fence corner until wanted again, letting the rain 
gather in them, proving a cause of many an attack of "bowel trouble." Paint 
pots and cans are thought to be harmless ; if, not, why are they left lying 
around in the fields for years? Drinking the water that collects in these ves- 
sels has led to enteritis in hundreds of cases. Unslaked lime is understood by 
nearly everyone to be a dangerous substance to be swallowed by a bird, and it 
is fairly well taken care of. Its usual way of producing trouble is by being 
picked up from droppings board or house floor where slaked lime is used to 
" sweeten " the plnce. If the lime is not screened there are often many pieces 
as large as corn kernels that remain in the lime unslaked. These little lumps 
combine with the water of the crop and bowel, producing great heat and irri- 
tation. 



FARM-PO UL TRY DO CTOR. 27 

Symptoms. — Great general weakness. Bird gets into a corner, sits down 
in a listless manner with feathers ruffled. Eyes are nearly closed. The bird 
is seen to shiver, and is restless. The bird is hot — in fact, there is general 
fever. The discharges are watery, with mucous stringy matter, and some- 
times yellow with bile. Blood may be passed with the discharge, and is 
usually followed by death. It is quite common for fatal cases to show stupor 
or wildness when well advanced in the disease. 

Treatment. — Seek the cause; if possible, remove it. If due to an irritant 
in the bowel, give a teaspoonful of castor oil to remove it ; follow with bland 
liquids, such as flour porridge, boiled milk, rice water. The best foods are 
meat extracts, raw meat, Murdoch's food. If constipation is observed to be 
present part of the time, give injections of warm milk and water or warm 
castor oil. If enteritis is caused by worms they should be removed by reme- 
dies, as given in " Worms." 

In all cases, add to one quart drinking water one level teaspoonful sulpho- 
carbolate of zinc. Boiled water is best. 

Do not give violent cathartics in any case of diarrhoea, as they simply increase 
the irritation. 

Do not give solid food or grit for several days. As the bird improves bread 
and milk is to be given, followed in a week by a well-cooked mash. 

Peritonitis. 

This is an inflammation of the membrane lining the abdomen, and covering 
the various organs that it contains, and is a common cause of death. 

Violence from outside the body produces this disease sometimes, but the 
usual cause is rupture of egg passage or blood vessel, and pus in the cavity 
from an abscess. 

Symptoms. — The bird is very hot, the temperature ranging from 103 to 107 
degrees; is restless; "the abdomen is full, hot and tender; " pain is intense. 
As the disease progresses the bird falls on one side, and the legs are drawn up 
close to the body. Breathing is rapid, and the breath hot. 

Treatment. — This is seldom successful. Use opium in one grain pills, 
twice a day, to relieve pain. Foods should be liquid, warm, and of an animal 
nature, such as meat juice and milk equal parts. 

Enlargement of the Testicles. 

This is a condition not often met with, yet not altogether unknown. 

Symptoms. — A bird with enlarged and congested testicles is inclined to be 
quiet ; is careful not to jump from any object to the ground ; will remain on the 
roost longer in the morning than the hens ; the motion in walking is peculiar, 
the body rising and falling more than is normal, and he is depressed in spirits. 

Treatment. — Plain food, without spice; and iodide of potassium three 
grains, in pill form, morning and night, will relieve this condition if not suc- 
cessful in curing: it. 



28 FARM-PO UL TRT DO CTOR. 

Worms. 

As a cause of disease and of death little attention has ever been given to the 
worms or parasites that are to be found in the intestines of our common fowls. 
It is becoming more recognized every year that worms play an important part 
in failure with poultry. Investigations by the United States agricultural 
department and by the Rhode Island experiment station under Prof. Cushman, 
have proved that worms are the cause of death to whole flocks of turkeys, and 
a serious obstacle to successful raising of turkeys in some sections. 

It will be well to remember this in looking after the health of the poultry, 
and in those cases that are not plainly the result of some definite trouble, to 
watch closely for worms, and in case of death to examine the bowels for these 
parasites. 

There are two kinds of worms more or less common among fowls — the 
roundworm and tapeworm. 

Roundworm. 

This worm is found in length from a third of an inch to over five inches. It 
is white in color, head like a pencil point, tail blunt much like a finger end. 
Roundworms are quite common in poidtry, yet do little harm unless present in 
large numbers. A worm or two will produce no symptoms, but when fifty or 
a hundred are busy at work struggling for room and food, it is to be expected 
that the bird will show the effect of the warfare within. The large numbers 
may cause " stoppage " of the bowels, from irritation, produce diarrhoea, or 
from the nutriment taken make thin and weak the bird. The roundworm is 
seldom thought of and its jn'esence known till an examination after death shows 
that the worms are there. An observing person, who is with his birds nearly 
all the time, may now and then see a worm in the droppings, but the other 
birds quickly eat anything of such nature that they find. 

Treatment. — Every other morning for a week, an hour before feeding, 
give a two-grain pill of santonine, followed by one-half teaspoonful castor oil. 
All droppings of suspected birds should be taken up as often as practicable, 
and used on ground remote from range of the flock. 

Tapeworm. 

This worm is much less common than the roundworm. Vale says : " It 
appears to be identical with the tapeworm found in cats (Toenia crassicollis), 
and it is, therefore, highly probable that it is derived from the same source — 
that is, the fluke of the liver of the mouse, for it is an ascertained fact that 
fowls will actually catch mice and eat them." I have seen brooder chicks 
three weeks old catch young mice and tear them limb from limb. 

Usually there are no svmptoms of the presence of the tapeworm. Sometimes 
the bird grows thin with no apparent cause. If the joints of the worm (like 
pieces of tape) are seen in the droppings, give five drops oil male fern in one 
teaspoonful sweet oil. Do this before feeding in the morning, giving about 
two hours after the male fern, a warm mash of bran and milk containing for 
each bird one teaspoonful castor oil. 



FA RM-PO ULTRT DOC TOR. 29 

Prolapse. 

This is a protrusion of the bowels caused in pullets by straining to pass an 
egg, and in older birds from general weakness. Wash the bowel with tepid 
water and then with extract hamamelis (witch-hazel) , gently replace it by push- 
ing it up into the abdomen. If it comes out again continue the same treatment, 
giving a teaspoonful sweet oil every morning, and avoiding the feeding of irri- 
tating food. 

Break-Down. 

This is the " baggy condition" often seen in old hens that have had too much 
corn. The rear part of the abdomen is crowded with fat and hangs down, 
sometimes to the ground, giving a very unhandsome appearance to the bird. 
The ceasing to feed corn and other fat-producing foods will sometimes remedy 
this condition, but a bird that has been allowed to get into such a shape is 
spoiled for life both as a layer and breeder. The hatchet and pot should be 
the fate of such a bird. 

Vent-Gleet. 

This is an inflammation of the last two inches of the bowel — the expanded 
portion that receives both fecal and urinary discharges — resembling a certain 
venereal disease, and is contagious. 

Symptoms. — The first to be observed is a frequent contraction of the end 
of the bowel, as if something was there that the bird wished to get rid of. 
Examining the bird, the red membrane is seen to be hot, dry and swollen. In 
a day a discharge begins to appear, at first whitish, then yellow and bad 
smelling. This dries around the vent and diminishes the opening. 

Treatment. — Wet a piece of cotton in a solution of ten grains sulpho- 
carbolate of zinc, five drops oil of wintergreen to one gill boiled water, and 
insert at morning and night. Or as an injection, use sulphate zinc five grains, 
water one-half pint. Even with the best of treatment this disease will run a 
course of over ten days. It seems unnecessary to say that birds with this 
trouble must be kept isolated. 

Diseases of the Oviduct. 
Egg- Bound. 

Many deaths result from this condition. It is most common in late winter 
and early spring, owing probably to a diet tending toward extreme fatness. 
Hens of the smaller breeds, and especially those having their liberty, are 
seldom troubled with this disease. 

A majority of the cases of egg-bound hens will be found on post-mortem 
examination to be fat — the liver enlarged, and the muscular system weakened 
by fatty degeneration. Not only is fat deposited between the muscular fibres, 
but many of the fibres themselves are replaced by fat. This makes the muscles 
not only weak in action, but quite easily ruptured. In common with other 
muscles, those surrounding the oviduct {egg passage) become weak and flabby, 



3 o FARM-PO UL TRT DO CTOR. 

and if a large egg is on its way out, or if through fright extra strain is brought 
upon these muscles, the passage is easily torn open, ai>d the egg passes into the 
abdominal cavity and is followed by peritonitis — and death. 

Hens are sometimes found dead upon the nest, apparently there for the pur- 
pose of laying an egg. This is caused often from the fatty condition of the 
heart muscles, The action necessary to eject the egg being too much for the 
weak heart, it staggers and then stops, and the hen is found lying dead in the 
nest. An over-fat hen has a deposit of fat around the bowels, pressing upon 
not only them but also the lower part of the egg passage. This acts as a foreign 
body, and obstructs the passing of the egg. 

Very large, soft shelled or broken eggs, are causes of difficulty in the ovi- 
duct. Pullets are often egg-bound for a few days when they begin to lay. This 
is owing to the small passage ; but after a few eggs are passed the oviduct 
becomes larger, and the trouble ceases. 

Symptoms. — You will find the hen walking about with tail depressed, and 
every few minutes going to the nest and trying to pass an egg. Catching the 
bird you will find her straining, and sometimes can feel a hard body within the 
vent. 

Treatment. — If the egg-bound condition is owing to long continued fat- 
ness, all treatment will fail. " Prevention " ought to prevent nearly all cases 
of this trouble. Dip the finger into sweet or castor oil, and introduce it into 
the vent. Ten drops of fluid extract of ergot, given to the hen from a spoon, 
and followed in half an hour by holding the bird over hot water so the steam 
can reach the vent, will sometimes relieve this condition. At all events, remove 
her from the male bird, and feed soft food and warm water. If success- 
ful in removing the egg, and the bird is worth the extra trouble, keep her in 
dry sunny quarters, and in her drink put ten drops tincture nux vomica to one 
pint of water. Give this for ten days, avoiding foods rich in starch, such as 
corn and buckwheat. 

Inflammation of the Oviduct. 

This follows in most cases from an egg-bound condition. It is sometimes 
produced by feeding too much spice, or " egg-forcing foods." It is also caused 
by the extension of inflammation from vent-gleet, and these cases are infectious. 
External injury very seldom causes this trouble. 

Symptoms. — Hill, in " Diseases of Poultry," says : " A bird affected with 
inflammation of the egg passage suffers acutely ; at first there is a continual and 
violent straining (sometimes resulting in apoplexy). The wings are dropped, 
and the feathers purled out. The vent is usually hot, and if a thermometer 
be inserted the temperature will be found high, frequently 105 to 107 degrees. 
As the inflammation proceeds the bird becomes more and more mopish and 
exhausted, but does not strain so violently — pain and exhaustion acting as 
preventives. Ultimately the temperature becomes lower, the body cold, an 
with a few convulsive gasps the sufferer dies." 



FARM-PO UL TRT DO CTOR. 



3* 



Too many birds die during their second winter, from this disease. The 
tendency of a hen to lay on fat is well known ; and fed as hens usually are, 
with the pullets, the hens grow diseased with fat, while the pullets are doing 
the laying. The hens should be fed by themselves, and lightly as to the fat- 
producing foods. 

Treatment. — Prompt treatment is necessary, as in severe cases death fol- 
lows in less than twelve hours. At once, if you suspect this disease, give one- 
half teaspoonful sulphate magnesia in a tablespoonful water. With an oiled 
finger examine the egg passage, and if any egg shell or other body be found, 
try to carefully remove it. Keep the bowels well opened by use of the magne- 
sia, giving plain unstimulating food, grass and clover, rather than grain and 
meat. 

Soft-Shelled Eggs. 

Anything that excites or inflames the ovary or oviduct tends to produce 
soft-shelled eggs. An over-fat hen, or one fed highly on spiced food, is apt to 
lay these eggs. A frightened hen may lay prematurely ; or worms in bowels 
may cause irritation enough to hurry the expulsion of the egg. 

Treatment. — A little sulphate magnesia in the drinking water (two tea- 
spoonfuls to quart of water) and the feeding of plenty of cut clover, with wheat 
and boiled oats, oyster shells and grit in reach, will do much to change this 
condition and its results. 

Diseases of the Comb. 

The appearance of the comb is a fair index to the condition of the bird. If 
it has a bloodless look, is light colored and limp, it indicates an anaemic state 
of the fowl. 

On the contrary, if it is dark-colored, purple, and tense in substance, it 
shows the other extreme — plethora. Between these two opposite appearances 
is that healthy color and plump look that we always associate with birds in fine 
condition. 

The wattles and ear-lobes by their appearance also add to or diminish our 
opinion as to the real severity of the case. 

Nearly all the diseased conditions of the comb are owing to disturbances in 
other parts of the body. 

In America we suffer less from the real diseases of the comb than in England 
and on the continent. 

Fungoid. 

This trouble is contagious, but to its full development must be added bad 
sanitary conditions and the feeding of a diet rich in starch. A flock under such 
conditions, if a case arises or is introduced from without, will rapidly contract 
this fungoid affection. 

Symptoms. — A few bead-like swellings are seen upon the comb (and 
wattles), at first hard to the touch, then grow soft, and bursting discharge a 
yellow liquid. Around these first few ulcers other swellings appear, going 



3 2 FARM-PO UL TRY DO CTOR. 

through the same process. As crop after crop appears, the head swells, the 
disease spreads to the neck ; the yellow discharge dries upon the comb and skin, 
giving a disagreeable look to the fowl. 

Treatment. — Birds run down in health ought to be killed and burned. If, 
on the other hand, you have a flock of strong, well-nourished birds, into which 
in some unknown way this disease has been introduced, a simple treatment 
may be tried. Quarantine all sick birds. Tie the legs loosely — not so as to 
prevent walking, but to keep it from scratching its head. Sponge often all 
diseased parts with a wash of carbolic acid crystals five grains to one pint of 
water. Give soft food to which has been added as a spice black pepper. 

Black-Rot. 

This disease is a gangrenous condition of the comb, seen in all of the tall 
comb varieties, but most often in the Black Spanish. There seems to be an 
intimate connection between the disease and congestion of the liver. 

Symptoms. — The comb, especially the points, is at first purple, then blue, 
and at length becomes black. It may affect only the points, or may extend to 
take in all the comb. Sometimes the bird is in such bodily condition as to live 
long enough to have part or all of the comb drop off. With the comb in the 
state of " dry-root " or " moist-rot," there is some looseness of the bowels, with 
a dark discharge, changing to yellow. The bird has no desire for food or 
exercise, but remains for hours at a time standing quietly. 

Causes. — These are rather uncertain, but seem to be damp and musty 
houses, or a sudden chill. 

Treatment. — Remove the bird to a coop where it can have fresh air and 
sunshine in abundance. To a pint dish of drinking water add one-half tea- 
spoonful of muriate of ammonia. Paint the comb three times a day with a 
lotion of one ounce of water, one-half ounce glycerine, and two grains carbolic 
acid. Green food, such as onions, dandelion leaves, and cabbage, should be 
within reach all the time. 

White Comb. 

This is a disease caused by bad sanitary surroundings, such as close air, lack 
of sunlight, and fostered by absence of green food. It is a disease of city rather 
than country. It is met with in basements of city stables. 

Symptoms. — Small points the size of a pin-head appear on the comb, soon 
break down, and the discharge runs together, making a thick crust, that cracks 
and comes off in flakes. The eruption may spread to the face and neck, caus- 
ing the feathers to drop off. As this condition is owing to an anaemic (or 
starvation) state of the system, with the comb eruption will be seen paleness of 
wattles and skin, and debility of the whole bird. 

Treatment. — This can seldom be given, because it means removal to green 
fields, with proper housing and feeding. The local conditions should be met 
by the daily application of an ointment of oleate of zinc one heaping teaspoon- 
ful to one-half cup of vaseline. Do not (as has been advised by some) give 
laxatives, but try to build up in every possible way the bird's weakened system. 



FARM-TO UL TR Y DOCTOR. 33 

Injuries of Comb. 

These are to be met with in poultry yards quite often. Seldom are they 
severe enough to require much attention. If there has been a severe cut or 
injury to the comb followed by much bleeding, bathe with warm carbolized 
water. If the cut or tear is severe, pass a needle threaded with white silk 
through each edge of the wound, drawing the cut surfaces together, and then 
tie. After fastening the knot, cut the silk, and proceed to stitch as before. 
The bird should be kept alone because of the danger of picking by others if the 
opportunity is allowed. In five or six days, if the wound seems to be healing, 
cut each thread and remove the stitches. Whenever a bird's comb has been 
picked or injured so as to cause the blood to settle in it or to be followed by 
bleeding, remove to place alone, as much for the sake of the flock as of the 
single bird. It is easy to teach a hen under such conditions to pick the comb 
of another bird, and it soon learns to do so for the sake of the blood it gets. 
The zinc ointment referred to under "White Comb," will be found useful in 
healing the combs of cocks that have been injured by fighting. 

Frost- Bite. 

This resembles " black-rot " in appearance, but the bird with frost-bite is 
fairly active, and with a good appetite. 

Symptoms. — Such of the comb (and wattles) as has been frozen is at first 
purple, and if improvement does not follow turns black, and may at last drop oft'. 

Treatment. — Prevention ought to be practiced, but in the best houses and 
with the best of care frost-bite will sometimes be seen. Birds with tall single 
combs need lower and warmer houses than the rose and pea comb fowl. Well 
fed flocks will stand a lower temperature than those carelessly looked after in 
kind and quantity of food. 

To reduce the swelling and improve the circulation in comb or wattles, 
apply two or three times a day the following mixture: — vaseline five table- 
spoonfuls, glycerine two tablespoonfuls, spirits of turpentine one teaspoonful. 

Apoplexy. 

This is caused either from a weak condition of the blood vessels of the brain, 
or so great a pressure upon them that a break occurs, letting out the blood into 
the brain. 

Violent exercise, as in running down a cockerel, overloading the crop after 
fasting, severe straining in laying an egg (in hens), are some of the ways by 
which this condition is produced. Once in feeding my birds at night, I noticed 
a cock among some young cockerels. He was very lively, and his appetite 
was so good that I stopped just to see him enjoy his supper. When I went 
thirty minutes later to shut up my houses, I found him dead lying on his side 
with purple comb. While he was with the hens he was careful to see they had 
food before he did, but when he was put with cockerels his greed was too much 
for him. Hens that are over-fat are in good condition to have an attack of 
apoplexy. In this condition the blood vessels, in common with the other parts 



34 FARM-PO UL TR T D O CTOR. 

of the body, are weakened, and straining to pass an egg through an egg pas- 
sage made smaller by the fat about it, bursts a blood vessel in the brain, and 
the hen is found dead on the nest. 

Extreme heat, as in summer, sometimes brings on this trouble. The bird is 
seldom seen until dead. It may occasionally be seen lying on its side, with 
purple comb, partially or completely insensible. 

Treatment. — Bleed the bird from a vein in the under side of a wing; 
give if possible two drops croton oil by the mouth, and keep in coop alone. 
To avoid this disease (i) keep stock in proper condition by not feeding too 
much fat-producing food ; and (2) for handling, catch birds at night while on 
the roost; (3) feed grain in moderate quantity at regular intervals. 

If your birds are already too fat, keep them on a grass run if in season, or 
feed largely on cut clover if in winter, being careful to avoid using much corn 
or fat meat. 

Broken Bones. 

Every year we see a case or two of broken bones in our flock of birds. If 
the break is in the shank the treatment is simple and successful. For broken 
shank in a chick, straighten the bone, wind a two-inch cotton bandage around 
the limb twice, then place wooden toothpicks up and down the shank, take 
two turns more with the bandage, cut off the cloth and fasten with needle and 
thread. For fowls splints of pine can be made of right size and length to fit 
the case. For broken wings and legs (thighs) use the hatchet, and serve for 
dinner. 

Lameness. 

This is caused by an accident. Getting caught in the fence or other place, 
and using considerable force in getting away, will produce this condition. If 
due to this, and not complicated with rheumatism, time itself will cure. 

Diseases of the Leg. 
Weakness. 

This occurs in young stock, (cockerels more often than pullets), at from 
sixteen to twenty-four weeks of age. The small breeds, such as Leghorns, 
seldom develop this trouble ; but it is more common among the heavy varieties. 
The causes of leg weakness are trying to rush the young birds to maturity ; 
feeding too much condiment ; fattening food ; increasing the weight of the 
body beyond the strength of the legs to support it. This trouble occurring in 
fowls is more apt to result from a fat condition of the body, and is likely to 
attack hens rather than cocks. 

Symptoms. — The birds first show an unsteadiness in gait. They walk 
slowly, and there is a tremble in the limbs. In a few days they can hardly 
hold themselves up, and when feeding will sit down on their legs. There 
seems little wrong except the leg trouble. The plumage is bright, the eye 
clear. As time goes on the appetite lessens ; the other members of the flock 
pick on him ; he grows thin ; the skin dry and crackly ; lice increase and grow 
fat ; the bird loses weight. 



FARM-PO ULTRT DO CTOR. 



35 



Treatment. — Remove all causes of the trouble, as pepper, corn, and corn 
meal. Over-crowding must be avoided. If you have been feeding any and 
every time you went near them, in fact, " babying" them, change this — feed- 
ing right foods at regular intervals, and at no time filling them to repletion. 
Give them a yard and pen by themselves to avoid picking upon by stronger 
birds. See to it that they have clean water and green food. Bathe the legs 
daily with Anodyne Liniment, or tincture of arnica. Bone meal, or phosphate 
of lime should be put in the morning mash. Boiled beans or peas will help to 
furnish a right diet. No better medicine can be given than quinine, — one 
grain per bird every day, administered in pill form. 

Rheumatism. 

This is a disease affecting the whole body, characterized by heat, and 
enlarged joints. The joints are swollen, the skin over them red, and hot to the 
touch. The leading symptoms belong to the legs, so we call attention to this 
disease under this heading. 

Causes. — Rheumatism is caused by exposure to cold and dampness; by 
over-feeding of nitrogenous food ; by under-feeding of green food ; and is inten- 
sified by hereditary taint. 

Symptoms. — There is generally contraction of the muscles, drawing up of 
the toes, and sometimes flexing the legs. Forcible straightening of the legs or 
toes causes severe pain. Because of the pain, the bird sits down most of the 
time, and in this way takes off part of the pressure upon the inflamed joints. 
Sometimes there is with this disease an inflammation of the lining membrane 
of the heart, complicated with congested liver. Adult birds do not furnish 
many fatal cases ; but the mortality among chicks is often large. 

Treatment. — Dry and roomy quarters must be furnished. Green food in 
varied articles should be given. Cabbages, carrot tops, lettuce, mangels — 
some or all of these you can obtain. Fresh water, so protected that the birds 
cannot get it on them or upon the floor, must be within reach constantly. 
In case of brooder chicks, be careful to keep brooder at right temperature, 
clean, dry, and plenty of sand or chaff upon its floor. Brooder chicks espe- 
cially need regular feeds of green material. In warm weather we depend on 
the tender grass to which they have free access ; and in cold seasons and when 
confined to brooder we have found carrot and turnip tops well suited to supply 
the need. Softly rubbing the legs with tincture of opium, or extract witch- 
hazel, and then wrapping them in flannel will help remove the local condition. 
To meet the constitutional symptoms, put into the drink fifteen grains of iodide 
of potassium to one quart of water. Bicarbonate of soda, or salicylic acid may 
be used ; but we consider the iodide of potassium best in the general treatment 
of rheumatism. 

Cramp. 

This is a trouble of chickenhood occasioned by crowding at night, too much 
warmth in brooders, and from want of exercise. 



36 FARM-POULTRY DOCTOR. 

To cure this trouble, and (what is better yet) to avoid it, give plenty of 
room in the brooders. Do this by reducing the number in each brooder. 
Fifty chicks are all that ever ought to be put in one flock. Give just heat 
enough so there is no crowding at night. Make every chick work for its grain. 
Use sand, dust, or chaff, and bury in it all the cracked corn and wheat you 
feed. Exercise will do much to pi-event cramp. 

Scaly -Legs. 

This is a local condition dependent upon a parasite, an insect that lives 
among the scales covering the shanks of the domestic fowl. There may be 
only a small place rough, the scales pushed apart; or the legs may be enlarged 
to twice their ordinary size, covered with disgusting bunches of scales and dirt. 
Scraping off some of this and putting it under a magnifying glass, you find one 
or more insects. This is among the few troubles that are quickly cured. 

Treatment. — One ounce sulphur rubbed into ten tablespoonfuls of vaseline 
makes a good ointment to cure this disease. Apply every other night for a 
week, working it into the rough scales. 

The best and simplest method is the " roup cure " — kerosene, applied not 
to the head, but to the toes and shanks. A tin quart measure, nearly full of 
water, with one tablespoonful kerosene oil floating on top, and tied or fastened 
to a box to hold it firm. Then dip the legs (both at the same time), into the 
oil, holding them there one minute. Repeat this after three days. 

Set no hen with scaly legs if you wish to avoid the trouble in the chicks. If 
you have one hen with these insects upon her shanks you have present a con- 
dition favorable to owning a scaly-legged flock. On the roost these insects 
can sometimes pass from one bird to another. While you are curing the few 
cases you know you have, take the pains to apply the oil to all your birds, and 
to the roosts also. Do not have scaly-legs in your flock. It is an indication 
of a careless poultryman. 

Fish=Skin Disease. 

This is a dry condition of the skin of legs and toes, resembling " scaly-legs," 
but not caused by irritation of a parasite. It is not contagious, and in many 
cases seems to be hereditary. There is a deficiency in the amount of oil in the 
skin, and it becomes dry and rough. Dirt gets in the cracks that appear, and 
picking or scratching only aggravates the trouble. 

Treatment. — Softly rub into the dry parts of leg or toe an ointment of 
cosmoline (any petroleum jelly) two tablespoonfuls, oleate zinc one teaspoon- 
ful. Daily rubbing with this ointment will soften the skin and improve the 
condition. 

Dropsy of Feet. 

This condition is wrongly called gout. It is simply a swelling of the feet 
and toes, due to a sluggish state of the circulation. Over-feeding, too little 
exercise, or none at all, may be followed by dropsy of the feet. 

Treatment. — A laxative, with plain food, and plenty of green vegetable 
nutriment, will remove this condition. When well, add exercise in abund- 
ance. 



FARM-rO ULTRT DOC TOR. 37 

Bumble-Foot. 

Sometimes the bottom of the foot becomes puffed, hot, tender, and in a few 
days matter gathers beneath the thick skin of the sole. In the beginning the 
skin is hardened ; then irritation is set up in the tender layers underneath ; the 
tissue breaks down, pus is formed. If left to itself the matter will spread a 
little way up and around the leg. Bumble-foot is caused generally by the bird 
alighting heavily on a hard floor when jumping from the roost. I have known 
it to occur in half-grown chicks that had never been on a perch of any kind. I 
have sometimes thought it due to a splinter or thorn ; but have never found 
any foreign substance except glass. The beginning of the disease is rarely 
noticed. The bird walks somewhat tenderly, lifts up the sore foot when stand- 
ing, and seems to be in a hurry to get off the ill foot if in motion. If seen 
early, washing the foot in strong vinegar, or applying tincture of idodine to 
thickened skin, will often prove a cure. 

Usually matter has formed when attention is called to the trouble. The only 
treatment then serviceable is to open the abscess with a clean slender knife, wash 
out all matter with warm water containing carbolic acid, and then apply nitrate 
of silver — ten grains to one ounce of distilled water. Keep the bird on clean 
straw for three or four days. 

Eczema. 

A disease of the skin, caused by too stimulating food, given to high-bred 
birds. It is not contagious. 

Symptoms. — The usual parts of the body to show this trouble are the 
wattles. White points appear, grow larger, run together, burst, discharge a 
liquid that dries making a crust. In severe cases the discharge falling upon 
the feet irritate them. The bird is " off his feed," and moves sluggishly. 

Treatment. — Two grains calomel every other night, and a one-grain pill of 
citrate iron and quinine twice a day for two weeks, will be the proper internal 
medication. Apply several times each day ointment of oleate of zinc to the 
wattles or parts affected. Simple foods, including cut clover (steamed), or a 
grass run, with green cut bone twice a week, will be required to put the bird in 
a healthy condition and to keep him so. 

Chicken-Pox. 

This rarely attacks full grown birds, but usually is seen in the fall of the 
year on partly matured stock. Wet dark days seem to increase the number of 
cases, and the severity of the disease. 

The head, face and underside of wing are the ordinary seat of the sores or 
ulcers that constitute the prominent feature of chicken-pox. Extension of the 
inflammation to the eyes may result in the loss of one or both of them. When 
the sores are numerous the bird loses appetite, strength and color. 

Treatment. — Apply carbolated vaseline to the ulcers twice a day. Avoid 
damp houses and exposure to rains. Feed mash rich in animal material, made 
by mixing ground grain and animal meal with boiling milk. A grass run in 
summer, or cooked cut clover in winter. 



38 FARM-PO UL TRT DO CTOR. 

Lice. 

Lice are always with us. Constant watchfulness is needful to prevent their 
overrunning us, and thus making our poultry plant a failure. The dainty 
little insects easily make a large hole in our profits. 

Prevention in this, as in other poultry trials, is cheaper and more satisfactory 
than extermination. 

If hatching with hens use clean boxes, fresh earth and hay, and set in a place 
free from lice. Dust the hen thoroughly with Persian insect powder before 
placing on the eggs, not forgetting to use a little of the powder in the nest. 
Repeat this at about the tenth and eighteenth days. After hatching, the 
powder should be used every ten days until the hen weans the chicks, or they 
are large enough to do without brooder heat. 

If you have used no powder, and find your chicks growing thin, and down or 
feathers dull and rough, look for lice. No doubt you will find them. The 
use of the insect powder will kill the lice, but those chicks will always be less 
vigorous than they would have been if prevention rather than cure had been 
practiced. 

Sometimes you will find your chicks standing up trying apparently to see 
how tall they can grow, and then falling over backward and trying to rub the 
tops of their heads on the ground. This indicates head lice. Looking you 
will probably find a few (two or three) of these large lice on the top of the 
head. Catch them, using a fine wire or needle, and then rub a little kerosene 
on the head. Tobacco dust is often used in place of the Persian powder, and 
tobacco stems can be used to make the nests for sitting hens. 

We have always used the Persian powder, buying it in one-pound boxes, 
and usually obtaining it .at seed stores, and have had continual good success. 
This powder loses its virtue in time, and a fresh supply of a good article should 
be obtained once a year. 

Sometimes (too often I am sure) a house will become infested with lice, 
red-mites. The nest box is alive with insect life, the underside of the 
roosts and the cracks of walls and droppings boards, thick with the little pests. 
If this was all we could stand it; but, alas, the lice are not satisfied with a diet 
of dust, but at dark come trooping up the sides and along the roosts to feast 
upon the life-blood of the hens. There is no profit in feeding such a multitude 
of tramps ; in fact, plenty of lice and a large egg supply do not go hand in hand. 

Such a house and flock need a very thorough treatment. Clear the house of 
everything movable. If there are permanent nest boxes built into the building, 
knock them down and never again use such fine breeding places for lice. 
Clean the house of cobwebs and dust. Carry out all litter from floor, digging 
down to fresh earth. Shut all windows and doors, and then burn sulphur, 
leaving the house closed for several hours. Follow this with a thick coat of 
whitewash, using crude carbolic acid in it. The roosts should be of planed 
lumber, and well kerosened on all sides. Let the hens crowd at night at the 
small doors, keeping them closed. Take the hens, one at a time, and carefully 
dust the insect powder into the feathers. Do this by holding the legs and with 



FARM-PO UL TR T D O CTOR. 



3V 



the fingers working the powder clown to the skin, being sure the fluff is not 
overlooked. This will get rid of the lice. Use clean nest boxes, and every 
month during warm weather kerosene the roosts. Road dust must be provided 
for dusting — for dusting is to a hen what bathing is to its owner. 

There is danger of introducing lice into your flock through birds bought 
from other persons. Some of our " best breeders " are not careful enough to 
avoid lice ; and no new bird should be put into your house until carefully dis- 
infected. 

Feather-Eating and Egg-Eating. 

There are two evils that the careless poultryman is likely to meet that are 
not, strictly speaking, diseases, but are worthy of a place in this series of 
articles. They are feather-eating and egg-eating. 

Feather=Eating. 

This is due largely to laziness on the part of birds and owner; over-feeding 
and crowded flocks ; nothing to do for a living except to bolt the food that the 
careless owner supplies in such generous quantities, and then to stand around 
ready for mischief. The man who crowds and over-feeds his poultry also 
allows lice to get a lodging place upon his fowls. Lice eggs are commonly 
laid upon the fluff near the opening of the bowel. The lice irritate that part 
of the body, and in picking at the lice and " nits " the hen gets a taste of the 
substance in the shaft of the feathers. Other hens see what is going on, and 
take a hand in helping remove the feathers — so the skin is bare and red from 
irritation. 

Treatment. — Fowls that have contracted this depraved habit, even if kept 
from following it for a time, are likely to take it up again on the slightest 
provocation. Feed lightly a well balanced ration, making birds scratch for all 
grain; give green food, allow plenty of house room and runs ; get rid of the 
lice by use of insect powder, remembering that the first application kills the 
lice, but the " nits " remain to hatch a new generation that must be taken care 
of in the same way. To stop feather-pulling a "bit" can be put into the 
mouth, and held in place by a wire passing through the comb. This keeps the 
bird from getting a hold on the feather, and its constant use will in a few weeks 
cure the habit. 

Egg-Eating. 

Egg-eating, caused principally by thin shelled eggs, lack of proper food for 
egg shells, or an inflamed condition of egg passage, causing the too rapid 
movement of the egg, accounts for most thin shelled eggs. The egg is left in 
the nest, and another hen going to lay, steps on it, and it is broken. If she 
remains some time on the nest the egg sticks to her feathers, and on leaving 
the nest is liable to take the egg with her. It is then within reach of the flock. 
The first bird takes a pick at the shell, likes it, takes another bite, — and the 
other hens, seeing all that is going on, take part in the feast. Sometimes the 
lack of animal food seems to create an appetite for egg-eating. Nest boxes 
without proper filling, turned toward the light, and easy of access, often lead 
to broken eggs. 



4 o FARM-PO UL TR T D OCTOR. 

Treatment. — The feeding a ration rich in shell forming material — of 
which cut green bone is the best. Boxes to be in secluded corners, and as 
dark as possible. Birds must be kept at work to keep them out of mischief. 
All inveterate egg-eaters should be killed and marketed. It is well never to 
give egg-shells to hens, unless crushed and fed in mash. 

Moulting. 

This is a natural condition by which the bird exchanges an old worn suit of 
feathers for a fresh clean one. Yet so many birds pass through this process 
with difficulty, if not disease, it is well to call attention to it. Moulting is done 
during the late summer and fall months, when the weather is warm. A 
moulting hen is easily fattened. Hence at this time of the year feed lightly of 
those foods that produce fat. Corn, corn-meal, middlings, potatoes, sweet 
corn, must be used sparingly. Increase the amount of green bone, bran, and 
skim-milk. A run on a field of clover will be of help in moulting. Do not 
try to hasten the time of the moult by keeping in a warm pen or by feeding 
cottonseed or linseed meal. Keep all males by themselves during the moulting 
season. If kept with the hens he is likely to damage the tender new feathers 
as they grow. If hens are not well fed at this period of their life they may 
learn the habit of feather-pulling, or egg-eating. They should also be housed 
so as to give them shelter from cold storms and hot sun. The ideal place for 
a run is in an apple orchard, where, in addition to the grass, may be found 
insects in fallen fruit, and the apples themselves make a welcome change of 
food. If to the orchard be added the scratching-pen house we have an arrange- 
ment suited to all conditions of sun or temj^erature, and a place where moult- 
ing birds will safely pass through the exhausting process. Hens during this 
process lay few eggs, unless in perfect condition at its commencement, and fed 
the right foods. Birds should go into the moult not fat, free from lice, and 
with no red mites in the house. 

For a tonic, one-half teaspoonful tincture nux vomica to two quarts drinking 
water; or twenty grains citrate iron and quinine to same quantity water, will 
help the digestion and strengthen the whole system during this exhausting 
process. 

Under-Feeding. 

Under-feeding and over-feeding are prolific factors in producing disease. 
As a whole, poultrymen are inclined to feed too much grain, especially in the 
late autumn, thinking to force the pullets to lay — and during the warm summer 
months when nature furnishes much of the heat that must be supplied bv food 
in winter. 

No one engaged in the poultry business is inclined to stint the birds in 
quantity of food. Under-feeding is often found practiced in the tenement dis- 
tricts of our large cities. When continued, the fowl becomes thin in flesh ; 
lays, possibly, a few eggs with thin shells and watery contents ; is slow in 
movement, and lives a half-starved existence. In these places, lack of food is 



FARM-POULTRY DOC TOR. 4 1 

combined with absence of sunlight and pure air, and probably dampness and 
filth to contend with. These conditions produce anaemia, and it is only 
remedied by removal to sunshine, fresh air, with careful and proper feeding. 

While, as we said before, poultrymen are not inclined to stint their flocks in 
quantity of food, they are very much disposed to keep from their feeding rations 
certain foods that are necessary to the best welfare of their stock. Many per- 
sons keeping twenty, fifty and in a few cases more fowls, never feed cut clover 
or grass (green or dried) and seldom give green bone or meat. The family 
flock of a few hens, commonly, in receiving the waste from the table, get a 
fairly well balanced ration. It is a waste of good grain to use it to the exclu- 
sion of green and animal foods. If you are so fortunate as to have unlimited 
run for your poultry, of course, they will attend to the bugs and clover them- 
selves during part of the year ; but when the grass is brown and the earth 
frozen, remember that grain, cut clover and green bone in the proper propor- 
tions make a healthful bill of fare. To the right foods do not forget to add the 
" hens' teeth," grit. Do not think they will find it themselves in their rambles 
— but keep it before them in quantity. As our nearest friends across the water 
would say — many a poultry plant in years past has gone to pieces on the rock 
of no-grit. 

Over-Feeding. 

Too much in total quantity or too much of any single article of diet pro- 
duces disturbances in the animal economy. The most trouble comes to those 
birds that are confined to narrow quarters, and are allowed no choice in the 
selection of food. If there is any one article of food more misused than any 
other in the feeding of poultry, it is our national grain, corn. Before the 
advent of Farm-Poultry, a large proportion of the farmers and villagers fed 
no whole grain except corn ; and the morning mash (if they were so fortunate 
as to have one), was largely corn meal. This method of feeding is slowly 
changing to a more sensible and better paying menu. With perfect freedom 
and access to the chaff that is found in country barns, hens are not likely to 
over-eat of corn, if it is kept before them all the time. When confined to the 
house and wire runs, care must be exercised in feeding this heat producing 
food. Its over-use produces a deposit of fat in all available parts of the body, 
which in time is likely to be followed by " fatty degeneration " of muscles and 
organs. Large collections of fat, with the conditions likely to arise from its 
presence, are common causes of apoplexy, inflammation of liver, bursting of 
oviduct {egg passage) from the obstruction, vertigo, and abnormal conditions 
of heart and kidneys. The over-feeding during the winter makes little appar- 
ent change in the bird. Few if any eggs are laid. With the springtime, con- 
tinuing the same ration as is the custom of many, the fatty muscles and organs 
begin to break down. The bird gets more and more thin, no appetite, and 
" mopes " — and ought to die. Some do ; I wish more did, because those that 
recover are never strong healthy birds fit to produce young. 

Now, corn is not the only food that will produce too much fat. Feeding 
oats, wheat, and fat meat in over-abundance will induce the obese condition — 



4 3 FARM-PO UL TRY DO CTOR. 

but these articles as commonly fed are fairly safe to use. Any animal not fed 
a well balanced ration has a craving for food that is not satisfied with a normal 
quantity of nutriment. ' A complete food costs slightly more than the common 
haphazard feeding of the past, but pays good dividends in better health, more 
eggs, and finer show birds. 

Prof. Hill says : " An over-fed fowl is never a well-fed one." 
The over-feeding of meat produces a perversion of nutrition ; the heart 
becomes enlarged in size ; and unless the bird is of an active variety, there 
follows a morbid chemical action in the body. The nitrogenized material, of 
which meat is so largely formed, is decomposed in excess within the system, 
and throws unusual work upon the organs of excretion to remove the surplus. 
This irritates the kidneys, and leads to positive disease. The presence of an 
excess of nitrogenous material in the body tends towards the production of one 
of the forms of rheumatism. 

The feeding of raw animal food, while on the whole a welcome addition to 
the poultry diet, is not without its dangers. In this way the various parasites 
that thrive in the intestines of the beef animal, or the triclinia? in the pig, may 
be introduced into the fowl. 

There is also danger in feeding decayed meat, whether it be from the large 
piece of flesh lying on the ground, or the pailful of cut meat and bone that is 
alive with " crawlers." For your satisfaction, however, let me quote from Dr. 
Richardson : 

" As a rule, such foods do no harm to the body that receives them. In that 
wonderful alembic the stomach, not half of the functions of which are as yet 
discovered, the matter is rendered innocuous, though it would be actively pois- 
onous were it inserted into a wound or injected into a vein." 

No perfect rule for feeding can be given. The age and condition of the bird, 
the season of the year, and the object in view, all influence the variety and 
quantity of food to be used. The laying hens and the growing " young- 
sters " need a diet much alike. So far as is practicable, laying hens and those 
that are resting from their egg labors, ought to be fed apart. One ounce of 
green bone three times a week, is enough for any laying hen or growing chick 
over three months of age. Salt should be used as a seasoning in same quan- 
tity as you would on your own food. Condiments are good in limited amounts 
in the hot mash. The wild birds pick and eat many a leaf and berry that is 
spicy, and our domestic fowls appreciate ginger and black pepper in their 
breakfasts. Charcoal in small pieces should be kept within reach of the flocks. 
It is pleasing to see a hen scratching in an ash-heap, picking up now a small 
piece of slate or unburnt coal, and then a cube of half-burnt wood. 

Water is an important article of the daily food. It? should be as fresh as 
possible, and kept in a dish that is clean. Hot, filthy drinking water is an 
abomination to all living creatures, and is a cause of many of the cases of 
diarrhoea and bowel troubles in the poultry yard. Feeding properly will ban- 
ish from your poultry plant one-half the diseases that trouble the unsuccessful 
44 hen-man." 



APPENDIX. 



SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT — THE RESULT OF EXPERIMENTS, 

As Tried by Michael K. Boyek, Associate Editor <>k Farm-Poultry. 



The symptoms which are, more or less, the poultry forerunners of diseases, should be 
met and treated promptly. If we apply a remedy and remove the symptoms we need not 
battle with the disease. 

The ailments of poultry are in many cases identical with those of the human bodv. 
Inflammation is a common cause. 

In writing this brief article or chapter on poultry diseases, the writer wishes to say that 
the advice here given is not the result of hasty compiling or editing, but the actual treat- 
ment as given by himself and others for whom he prescribed — and as so much good was 
accomplished by the use of the remedies herein mentioned — Sheridan's Condition 
Powder, Parsons' Purgative Pills, and Johnson's Anodyne Liniment — it was thought a 
humane act to bring them more prominently before the notice of poultrymen — hence 
this publication. 

But it must be remembered that it is much easier to prevent disease than to cure it ; 
and if the early symptoms of illness are attended to, heroic measures will hardly ever be 
called upon. In the use of Sheridan's Condition Powder as a tonic, and the Pills and 
Liniment in the first stages of trouble, much time, expense, and sickness will be averted. 

Fowls must never be over-crowded; the houses should have proper ventilation, and be 
comfortably warm in winter and cool in summer; they must be kept perfectly clean, have 
sufficient light, and be free from vermin. 

The quality and quantity of food is also an important matter. The digestive system is 
important; hens manufacture their eggs from the food. " Over-feeding leaves the blood 
full of material which will furnish a good seat for disease," writes Mr. Stoddard, and we 
might add that under-feeding is equally as bad. 

But as these subjects of food and care are being continually handled in Farm-Poultry, 
it is unnecessary to repeat them here. 

Administering Medicine. 

Solutions are easily administered, either by adding to the drinking water, mixing with 
the mashes, or by being poured down the throat. In giving Parsons' Pills, hold the head 
of the bird in about the natural position it would take in drinking — keep the bill of the 
fowl pointed upwards, and the neck stretched. Then hold in that position until the pill 
is swallowed. In giving liquids in this way, they should be given slowly and in small 
quantities. 

A teaspoon holds about one fluid drachm; a tablespoon half a fluid ounce: and a wine 
glass two fluid ounces. A drop is larger with some liquids than with others. For 
instance, water has about sixtv drops to a teaspoonful or drachm, and laudanum and all 
other tinctures and alcohols have one hundred and twenty drops to a fluid drachm. 



44 FARM-POULTRY DOCTOR. 

Commonly speaking, what would be considered the dose for a child is about right for a 
fowl. A two weeks old chicken will need as much medicine in a day as a child six months 
of age. At six weeks it would require the same size dose as would be given a year old 
child ; a half-grown fowl as much as a two year old child ; and an adult bird as much as a 
four year old child. 

Dieting Sick Fowls. 

A sick fowl is very much like a sick person — the appetite is poor, and the system 
weakened. The physician in charge at once stipulates what the diet shall be — and so in 
the case of ailing poultry. Feeding whole grain is dangerous from the fact that, owing 
to the enfeebled condition of the fowl, it is unable to properly digest the food. If the 
crop is full, give no food whatever until it is empty. Then mix up light mashes — bran 
and oatmeal, scalded with milk, is excellent. If the fowl is too ill to help itself, beat up a 
new-laid egg with two tablespoonfuls of milk, and give half of this at night, and the 
other half at morning. After two days, should the bird be recovering, increase to twice 
the quantity. As soon as the fowl is able to eat alone, give some bread crust scalded with 
milk, and after the bird is able to freely eat of this add a little hemp seed mixed with some 
good wheat. Give only a little at a time, just what it will eat up clean. Keep fresh 
water and grit constantly before them. 

No natter What Kind of Food You Use, 

Sheridan's Powder is an absolute necessity ■with it to insure perfect assimilation of the food 
elements to keep poultry and young chicks strong and healthy. It is a positive preventive 
for all kinds of poultry diseases. It keeps the plumage glossy and combs red. 

Anaemia. 

The word anaemia means a lack of biood. It is a condition which ultimately affects 

the nutritive process, becoming injurious to the functional activity of the digestive and 

other organs ; the power of the gastric and intestinal glands are deteriorated, the action 

of the stomach and gizzard are weakened. All this means indigestion. This deficiency 

of blood is caused partly by over-crowding, defective ventilation and poor light in the 

hennery, innutritious and insufficient food. The symptoms of the disease are general 

prostration, depression, bloodless look, especially about the eyes, comb, and wattles. 

The comb is pallid, cold, and inclined to lop over; the mouth and tongue white; limbs 

cold, and thighs somewhat swollen. 

Treatment. — First remove the cause. Then give a nutritious diet, fresh air, sunlight and good range. Give a 
Parsons' Pill each night for three nights in succession. During winter keep bird comfortably warm, and supply 
vegetable matter in the diet. Add a teaspoonful of tincture of iron to a quart of drinking water. Add Sheridan's 
Condition Powder to the soft food daily, say in the proportion of one heaping teaspoonful to each pint of food. 

Apoplexy or Vertigo. 

Apoplexy or vertigo is a rush of blood to the head, caused by being too fat, hereditary 
tendency, violent exercise by being chased, intense heat, indigestion, and straining, 
especially in laying hens ; they are frequently found dead on the nest. The blood rushing 
to the head, the fowl feels dizzy, staggers as if drunk, or runs about in circles. Mr. 
Stoddard says that if under these circumstances the amount of blood in the head be 
increased, the brain suspends its activity, and the fowl falls senseless. When the blood 
flows away again, the fowl will recover unless the influx of blood to the brain has been so 
strong as to burst a blood vessel, in which case the fowl may die at once — or if it recovers 
may recover with part of the torn brain so impaired that that part of the bodv which is 
controlled with this part of the brain cannot be used, or, as we say, is paralyzed. 

Treatment. — Bathe the back of the head with Johnson's Anodyne Liniment, and as soon as able to swallow, give 
a Parsons' Pill. Keep the bird on a low diet for several days. 



FA RM-PO ULTRT DOC TOR. 45 

Atrophy of the Liver. 

Atrophy is a wasting of the liver, and is the result of badly fed and poorly kept poultry. 

The liver becomes small and pale, the bird is depressed, drowsy, the plumage loses its 

lustre, the evacuations are of a bilious order, ending in a black or blood-stained condition. 

Before death the bird goes into a stupor, and dies in convulsions. 

Treatment. — Cure in this disease is very uncertain, unless taken in the early stages, when the bird must be sup- 
plied with nutritious food, in which is mixed about a quarter-teaspoonful of Sheridan's Condition Powder, daily. 
A Parsons' Pill should also be given — one each night for three nights in succession. 

Baldness, White Comb, Scurvy or Itch. 

These are all, practically, the same, caused by foul, damp, and dark houses; over- 
crowding in the same ; impure water, decayed food, and lack of sharp grit and fresh 
vegetables. There is a scurvy appearance to the comb, wattles, head and neck, with a 
gradual loss of feathers from the head and neck. At first the bird eats heartily, but the 
system being low, the food is improperly assimilated, and the bird becomes weak and 
emaciated, and dies from exhaustion. 

Treatment. — Give a teaspoonful of castor oil at night, after which, daily, add a half-teaspoonful of Sheridan's 
Condition Powder to the soft food, and a teaspoonful of tincture of iron to a quart of drinking water. Anoint the 
parts with vaseline. 

Bronchitis. 

Exposure to damp or wet weather is the prime cause for bronchitis. There is a rattling 
in the throat when breathing, due to a cold settling on the lungs, accompanied by cough 
and expectoration. The nostrils frequently discharge, and the eyes are often inflamed. 

Treatment. — Remove the bird to a dry place, and add Sheridan's Condition Powder to the mash. Slightly acidu- 
late the drinking water with ten drops each of sulphuric and nitric acid. Two or three drops of Johnson's Anodyne 
Liniment in a teaspoonful of glycerine will be found useful in allaying the irritant symptoms. 

Catarrh. 

This is a cold in the head, caused by exposure, damp runs, poor ventilation, etc. The 

eyelids become puffed or swollen, with often a watery condition of the eyes, a glutinous 

discharge from the nostrils, sneezing, ruffled plumage, loss of appetite, and general 

droopiness. 

Treatment. — Remove the bird to warm quarters, and feed upon soft nourishing food, to which add a quarter-tea- 
spoonful of Sheridan's Condition .rowder. Also, add a half-teaspoonful of Johnson's Anodyne Liniment to a pint of 
drinking water. 

Cholera. 

This is a dreaded disease of a miasmatic origin, epidemic, and very contagious. The 
principal causes are over-crowding, bad sanitary management, and unwholesome or 
irregular food. Of all diseases, cholera is the least understood, as many of the symptoms 
given are also identified with other troubles like indigestion, enteritis, etc. The external 
symptoms of a cholera patient are a dejected, sleepy, droopy appearance. The bird does 
not plume itself, and has a great thirst ; it has a slow, staggering walk, and gapes fre- 
quently. At times the bird falls down from weakness. The comb and wattles become 
pale at times, and then dark. The droppings are at first either of a greenish color, or 
like " sulphur and water," and afterwards they become thin and frothy. Prostration comes 
on, and the crop fills with mucus and wind ; the food does not digest; there is a heavy 
and quick breathing, the eyes close, and in a few hours the fowl is dead. A post-mortem 
of the fowl will find the gizzard filled with dried up food, sometimes with a greenish 
matter, and the crop inflated with sour mucus and food. The liver is enlarged and 
flabby, and so tender that it can readily be mashed in the hand, is generally split open, 
and in every case much congested. The crop and intestines are inflamed, and the latter 
are filled with greenish matter. The heart is also sometimes enlarged. 

Treatment. — At once remove all affected birds, clean up the coops, and wash them thoroughly with water con- 
taining five ounces of sulphuric acid to the gallon. Also sprinkle same over any droppings that may be about. 
Spade up the runs deeply in summer, and in winter use carbolate of lime freely in all parts of the coops. Feed 
cooked food only — to both the sick and well fowls — adding from three to four teaspoonfuls of Sheridan's Condition 
Powder to a quart of food, daily. To the sick fowls give a Parsons' Purgative Pill each night for three nights in 
succession. Every other day during this trouble, give the well fowls a feed of corn or wheat that has been soaked in 
coal oil (kerosene) a few hours. 



4 6 



FARM-PO ULTRT DO CTOR. 



Cramps, Rheumatism and Leg Weakness. 

The symptoms are the same, or very much alike, in all three troubles, but the causes 

are different. Cramps are but temporary, and are best prevented by having dry houses. 

Board floors often give this trouble to chicks. Rheumatism and leg weakness are almost 

identical, caused by exposure to cold or wet, or roosting in damp, cold houses or places. 

Rheumatism, however, has more or less connection with a bad condition of the blood. 

Leg weakness may come from inbreeding, but generally from too high feeding, which 

increases the weight of the body out of proportion to the muscular strength of the limbs. 

Especially is this so with Cochins and Brahmas. 

Treatment. — Cramps need hardly any doctoring. Remove the cause, and put Sheridan's Condition Powder in 
the soft food. When the Powder is added to the soft food for chicks, the blood is kept in a pure state, and cramps are 
uncommon. For rheumatism the bird must be removed to a dry place, and given a bed of straw or soft hay. Give 
nourishing food, to which add Sheridan's Condition Powder, and bathe the legs and feet with Johnson's Anodyne 
Liniment at least twice a day. Also, in starting to treat this disease, give a Parsons' Pill each night for three nights 
in succession. A little cooked meat fed daily will greatly assist. For leg weakness the same treatment can be 
followed as advised in rheumatism, with the exception that in bad cases give a pill twice a day composed of one grain 
of sulphate of iron, five grains of phosphate of lime, and half a grain of quinine. 

Debility. 

Very often fowls that are apparently healthy do not thrive, and all of a sudden become 
droopy, and " go light." The system must be toned, and for this nothing that we have 
tried worked so admirably as Parsons' Pills, one each night for three nights in succession, 
and Sheridan's Condition Powder in the soft food. 

Diarrhoea and Constipation. 

The causes of diarrhoea in chicks are many — sloppy or sour food, bad water, damp 
quarters, filthy coops, exposure to cold and wet, and too much green food. In fowls, too, 
it is caused by too much green food, lack of sharp grit, and errors in feeding. 

Treatment. — Remove the cause, and, with chicks, keep them warm, and feed cooked rice, or bread scalded in 
milk, or scalded milk to drink. Alternate this diet with a mash composed of one part bran and two parts middlings, 
to which fine bone-meal and Sheridan's Condition Powder is added. The same treatment will likewise prove effective 
with fowls. 

Should the chicks become costive, change the food to two parts bran and one part oat-meal, and do not use the 
Powder. Also provide plenty of green food. When fowls become constipated, change food as in case of chicks, and 
give a Parsons' Pill each night for three nights in succession, and put about .ten drops of sulphate of magnesia to a 
pint of drinking water. 

Diphtheria, or Ulcerated Sore Throat, and Canker. 

Both these diseases are highly contagious, and annually destroy a great many birds. In 

both cases the mouth and throat fill up with a white mucus resembling a thick saliva. 

Little white ulcers are found in the mouth, involving the throat and tongue. 

Treatment. — Remove the bird to dry quarters, and give a quarter-teaspoonful of Sheridan's Condition Powder in 
the mash. In case of diphtheria prepare a mixture of one tablespoonful of Johnson's Anodyne Liniment, one tea- 
spoonful turpentine, and four tablespoonfuls of water. Put the mixture in a sewing machine oilcan. When using, 
warm the mixture slightly, and shake well. Force from fifteen to twenty drops down the throat daily, after which 
powder the throat with powdered burnt alum. In cases of canker wash the head and eyes, and swab out the mouth 
and throat with diluted solution of chlorate of potash and alum, equal parts, containing one-half water, and remove 
the ulcers with a quill. Then apply powdered borax to the places left bare, to be repeated twice a day. Mix Sheii- 
dan's Condition Powder in the soft food, daily. 

Enteritis. 

The symptoms of enteritis are very much like those of cholera, but the disease is not 
contagious. The same use of Sheridan's Condition Powder and Parsons' Pills, as advised 
under the head of Cholera, will be be found effective in this trouble. 

Indigestion. 

This is caused principally by lack of sharp grit, over-feeding, unwholesome diet, injudi- 
cious use of grain, and debilitated system. The fowls are sluggish, appetite poor, the 
droppings scant and unhealthy, and the crop soft. 

Treatment. — Add a little of Sheridan's Condition Powder to the soft food daily, and give a Parsons' Pill each 
night for three nights in succession. Add ten drops of nitric acid to a quart of drinking water, and give occasionally 
evening feeds of chopped onions. 



FARM-PO ULTRT DO CTOR. 47 

Lice. 

None of I. S. Johnson & Co.'s preparations will destroy lice, as they are not " built that 
way" — but when the birds become weak from the ravages of these miserable pests, noth- 
ing will tone up their systems so quickly and well as Sheridan's Condition Powder, in the 
soft food, say a heaping teaspoonful to each quart of mash. 

Roup. 

Roup is caused principally by a neglect or want of attention to minor diseases of the 
air passages, produced by colds. There is a discharge from the nose and eyes, which 
becomes thick and very offensive. The nostrils become filled up and closed by the dis- 
charge ; the eyelids become swollen and stuck together, and often the eyeball is quite con- 
cealed, and in severe cases the whole face is considerably swelled by the diseased secretion. 

Treatment. — The diseased birds must be removed at once to separate quarters. When the eyes, head and face 
are swollen, rub them with a few drops of a mixture composed of one tablespoonful of melted vaseline and one tea- 
spoonful of Johnson's Anodyne Liniment. Keep the two well mixed when cool, by stirring. 

How to Feed Roupy Fowl. — Let the food be nourishing, such as chopped cooked lean meat, with cooked vege- 
tables and oat-meal or wheat middlings, making a hot mash of same. To the food for each twelve hens add a table- 
spoon rounded full of Sheridan's Condition Powder and an even teaspoonful of cayenne pepper. If the sick birds 
will not eat, roll the food as above into balls as large as a marrowfat pea, and force it to eat the same three times a day. 

When Treating a Fowl, bear in mind that as the nostrils may be clogged, and the windpipe nearly closed, it may 
be a very easy matter to strangle it when giving liquid remedies. To attempt to handle a large flock of sick fowls is 
quite a job. The first duty is to apply air-slaked lime over the floors, using it liberally, and also put a lump in the 
drinking water, which should be frequently changed. Prepare a mixture of one tablespoonful of Johnson's Anodyne 
Liniment, also one teaspoonful of spirits of turpentine, and four tablespoonfuls of water. Put the mixture in a sewing 
machine oil can. When using, warm the mixture slightly, and shake well before using. Three times a day inject 
two to four drops of the mixture in each nostril, and force twenty drops or more down the throat; endeavor at same 
time to flood the affected parts during the operation, having some one hold the bird while you operate. Don't allow 
the sick fowl to remain with the others, else there is great danger the disease will become epidemic. A few days of 
this treatment ought to effect a cure. 



A FEW QUESTIONS ANSWERED. 



Young Chickens. 

Is Sheridan's Conditio?! Powder Good for Young Chicks? 

The writer had excellent results from the use of this Condition Powder in the food for 
young chicks. It tones up their systems, gives them strength, improves their appetite, 
prevents leg weakness, wards off colds, and puts them in a healthy condition while grow- 
ing bone, muscle and fat. At first only small doses should be given, say an even tea- 
spoonful to a quart of food twice a week, and then gradually increase to make up for the 
growth of the chicks. 

Moulting. 

In What Way Does Sheridan 's Condition Poxvdcr Assist During Moulting ? 

The process of moulting is very exhausting, and the Powder acts as a tonic, strengthen- 
ing the system and making up for this drain on the nitrogeneous matter and phosphates 
contained in the food. It is but reasonable to suppose that if the Powder thus tones up 
the system, there is less risk of sickness and death during this change, and the fowl being 
assisted, completes the process more quickly and starts laying earlier. 

Liver Troubles. 

Is Not Sheridan s Condition Povjder Apt to Produce Liver Troubles ? 

Prof. Hill says that atrophy of the liver is caused by poor care, and innutritious and 
insufficient diet — and recommends, as the most favorable treatment, nutritious food, 
tonics and stimulants. Congestion of the liver, he says, is caused by fowls being closely 
confined and over-fed, particularly when stimulating/00^ is given, and the habitation or 
locality is hot. Inflammation of the liver is caused by insufficient exercise, over-feeding, 



4 S FA RM-PO ULTRT DO CTOR. 

exposure and injuries. So it will be readily seen that close quarters and an over-fat con- 
dition are more responsible for liver complaint than anything else, and when Sheridan's 
Condition Powder is rightly fed, instead of producing these troubles it tends to remedy 
them, because the fowls are kept in condition so that all the organs act normally. The 
liver is a very sensitive organ, and can be over-stimulated by improper food more quickly 
than by anything else. 

Fertile Eggs. 

Will Sheridan s Condition Powder Affect the Fertility of Eggs ? 

On this point the writer has repeatedly experimented. He, too, like many others, at 
one time charged condition powders with producing infertile eggs, but the trials made 
with Sheridan's Powder have fully convinced him that by its use the stock are strength- 
ened and made vigorous, and such a condition is bound to not only produce strong fertile 
eggs, but hardy chicks. (See test case, following.) 

A Case in Point. 

Of course you want to know how the hatching of eggs from those hens "encouraged" 
bv Sheridan's Condition Powder, etc., turned out, and how the chicks are coming on; 
and I am as eager to tell as you are to hear. Up to date (July i) I set one hundred and 
ninetv-four eggs ; one hundred and fifty-three hatched, and there are twenty-five yet to 
hear from. Every chick came from the shell strong and well. We have lost twenty-two, 
but only one by sickness. Three were crushed by the mother hens, two strayed off in the 
wet grass after a rain, and died from the effects of the chill, the hawks took five, and 
skunks gobbled an even dozen. You see even the " old hands" have losses; and doubtless 
you also see that over half the loss might, with a little more care and watchfulness, have 
been prevented. Some that were chilled were taken in and warmed, and in a short time 
were as lively as ever. — Fanny Field, in Farm-Poultry, July 15, '95. 

[Note. — It looks as though the Sheridan's Powder improved, rather than injured, the 
fertility of the eggs, from the above test case.] 



HOW TO OBTAIN OUR REHEDIES. 



If you can't get them near home, send to us. Ask first of your nearest 
dealer. We send by mail or express, charges prepaid by us in every case, as follows : 

Johnson's Anodyne Liniment, — one bottle for $ .35 

Johnson's Anodyne Liniment, — five bottles for ...... 1.50 

Parsons' Purgative Pills, — one bottle for .25 

Parsons' Purgative Pills, — five bottles for 1.00 

Sheridan's Condition Powder, — one pack for ...... .25 

Sheridan's Condition Powder, — five packs for ....... 1.00 

Sheridan's Condition Powder, — one large two pound can for . . . 1.20 
Sheridan's Condition Powder, — six large cans for 5.00 

TWO large Cans Powder ) if ordered at one time 

One bottle Liniment we will send for $3.00 cash, 

TWO bottles PillS J and prepay express. 

Sign letters and orders plainly, and give us the name of your post office, also 
nearest express office, in full. Send money by Express or P. O. order, cash or post- 
age stamps, in a registered letter. Address 

I. 5. JOHNSON & CO., 22 Custom House St., Boston, Mass. 



FEED for EGGSr^m 



IN WINTER, 

Or don't keep Poultry at all'. It is a fact, the only sure way to make poultry pay is 

to keep them in COND1TK >N to lay « i worth from 25 to 50c. per dozen. 

S HERIDAN'S C ONDITION P OWDER 

will keep your poultry in CONDITION if used a^ directed. Continue to use it, as 
a customer says she does, namely; " from the cradle 10 the grave," and you will suc- 
ceed nine times in ten and have plenty of eggs to sell in the early winter when 
prices aie highest and profits large. It is absolutely pure. Highly concentrated. 
In quantity it costs less than one-tenth of a cent a day. No other kind like it. 



««%%%%%%%Vi%%%%%%^ • '%^%*'%*'%^%^%'%^%'%*'%^« 




* 




I 

t 

S! 
H 

I 



•%%%,%%%%^%%^%%^%^/^% e «^«/»*/%%%*^*%'%%-%'»*/*%'%« 



I 




I. S. JOHNSON & CO. 
W f W* W* W* W' W*W** 



Keep Your Chickens 

STRONG MO HEALTHY. 

To make poultry pay, first hatch strong, healthy chickens 
keep them healthy and growing if you want the pullets to lay 
when five months old. When hens lay eggs for hatching mix in 
their food every other day SHERIDAN'S POWDER. It 
strengthens the hens, makes the rooster more vigorous; finally 
you get more fertile eggs for hatching. See prices above. 
22 Custom House St., Boston, Mass. 



H 



A GENTS 



w- 



f^sJBV^l 



FOR THE BEST 
POULTRY PAPER 
IN THE WORLD. 



Wanted 
Everywhere. 



WE WANT Agents for Farm-Poultry everywhere. If you do not care to act for 
us. will you help on the good work by getting some other person to act as agent 
for us? By so doing you are aiding us to make Farm-Poultry a stronger and better 

paper than it is now. Please let us hear from you, anyway, upon this subject. We pay 

^LIBERAL COMMISSIONS^ 

... IN CASH . . . 

HOW TO CANVASS. First, pick out the persons who in your judgment are most 
likely to take such a paper as Farm-Poultry. Select some time for your call when 
they are not busy, if possible, when they are feeling agreeable, as for instance, after 
dinner, or in the evening. Call their attention especially to those points of excellence 
about Farm-Poultry which have made you believe in the paper. For example : its pure 
clean tone; its practical teachings all based upon experience obtained from day to day 
on well conducted successful poultry farms ; its answers to correspondents ; its small 
COSt, and the fact it contains as much matter as most $2.00 papers. In canvassing 
always be courteous and polite, and never get provoked. If a person puts you off by 
telling you to call on him again, try to secure him then and there. Do not call again if 
you can help it. "Now or never," is the motto of the good agent. Read carefully the 
paper yourself, and rehearse to yourself exactly how you will talk, and what you will say 
to each person. 



FREE! 



If you desire to get FARJVUPOULTRY 
Free of charge for one year, 
You can easily do so. 



HOW TO GET IT FREE. Canvass your neighborhood for us. and obtain sub- 
scriptions to Farm-Poultry. You mai say, "I cannot:'" -'I am no agent;" "I don't 
know how to canvass." 

YOU NEED NOT FEAR for those reasons: You Can get subscribers. Every 
reader of this announcement can at least get five persons who have never taken the paper 
bscribe for it. 

IF YOU WILL DO THIS, and send us the cash for the five new subscribers at $1.00 
each, we will send you free of charge for your trouble, FARM=POULTRY Semi- 
Monthly one year free. Complete outfit, sample copies, blanks, etc.. sent on applica- 
tion. Send all money and orders to us. 

I. 5. JOHNSON &. CO., = = 22 Custom House St., Boston, Mass. 



